Imprint
by Bobbin of Ham
Summary: Cloudjumper knows that Valka misses her baby and thinks he has a solution. AU. Baby!Hiccup.
1. Prologue

She had made a poor choice in letting him convince her to do this. They should have stayed at the nest; this was not the time of year to be out sailing or flying. No wonder dragon raids ended with the summer Valka thought as she held her bundle close with one hand and Cloudjumper's spike with the other. The cold rain was coming from every direction except above as the winds caught her dragon's wings and tossed them through the dark sky. Four wings were useful now as the first set took the brunt of the wind and the second were able to fly. But the gusts were frequent and constantly changing direction causing Cloudjumper great difficulty in maneuverability.

Early in the ride Valka had given up on speaking to either Cloudjumper or her bundle; the wind stole her voice before even she could hear it. Instead her concentration was given to the task of holding onto her dragon and her bundle. Valka held the bundle close to her body; protecting it from the wind and rain that lashed at them the best she could. Suddenly, Cloudjumper veered down. Valka pressed herself against him and tried to keep from being ripped off his back by the descent and the wind. It was hard to see through the sheets of rain in the dark, but Valka thought she could make out stable land in the tossing waves. Cloudjumper was almost to the land when a strong gust slammed into the dragon from the right sending them spiraling. Valka no longer knew which way was up in the dark; all she could feel was sheets of rain whipping around in the wind. She would have to rely solely on Cloudjumper. Suddenly she heard a crack…

* * *

Valka woke to sunshine and songbirds. She was leaning back against her dragon with her bundle still wrapped securely in her arms. The waves that had been so large and dangerous the night before gently lapped at the shore and the sky was clear and blue.

"Good morning, sweet thing." She said to her bundle before getting up to figure out where they had landed. They were on a level side of the beach, just above the rocky shore on the first bit of green grass. To the left there was a cliff rising out of the sea with the white foam of waves hitting the bottom of it. To her right were three sea-stacks. If you stood at just the right angle and squinted they blended together to make a dragon head. Stoick had pointed that out to her on their first date when they came to this island. Valka had been planning on using the position of the sun to guess where they were but there was no need. She knew this island. Stoick had taken her here many times to get away from the village; she was only a few hours from Berk. Much closer than she wanted to be right now. A sliver of sharp pain ran through her chest as she looked at the sea-stacks and remembered the last time she had been here with her husband. She had just passed her first trimester of pregnancy and they had come here to celebrate by themselves before finally announcing it to their friends. Part of her still remained in that village but she knew she could never go back. Not as long as she had Cloudjumper.

"Cloudjumper we have to go." Valka turned back to her dragon and forgot about leaving and her family. Both of the massive dragon's right wings were bent back further than they should be and he breathed heavily as if in great pain.

"Oh my dear one!" She gently felt at his shoulders and he shuddered. "I'm so sorry not to have noticed." Both wings were dislocated. She would have to push them back. There would be no flying for a while.

"Let me get this one situated, Cloudjumper, then I can see to you." Valka picked up her bundle and lifted the edge of the linin blanket to check inside. "We have some time to get you back to the nest, I think." She said, "So long as we aren't discovered first."


	2. Homecoming

It was quiet in the house, nice after the chaos of dealing with pre-winter preparations Stoick thought. He focussed on planning the next hunting trip, the fire crackling comfortingly in the background. The map Stoick studied suddenly rumpled. He followed the disturbance to see his confused son lying on his stomach. Stoick had placed the baby on his back, not his stomach. Hiccup un-furrowed his brows and broke into a grin, delighted with this new found mobility, as limited as it may be. He cooed and kicked his feet, reaching for a corner of the map.

"No you don't." Stoick said pulling the map away from Hiccup's chubby fingers. The baby started to cry half-heartedly and hit the table with his hands. This activity distracted him as he tried to push himself up, forgetting about the map. Stoick raised his eyebrows as Hiccup flipped himself onto his back again and squealed, kicking his feet.

"You going to make a habit of this?" Stoick asked him. Hiccup looked at his father upside down and babbled, reaching up for him with one hand while taking hold of a foot with the other. Smiling Stoick offered his finger for Hiccup to grab. This new found mobility could be problematic. Gobber had a habit of bursting in without watching where he went so Stoick preferred to have Hiccup on the table and not the floor. This development made that option dangerous as the baby could roll right off the table. Hiccup waved the hand that held Stoick's finger and blew spit bubbles. Maybe he could be penned in on the floor, the way they penned in sheep and yaks; not to keep Hiccup in but to keep Gobber from stepping on him.

As if on cue, Gobber burst through the door. "Hey Stoick. And the little bug." He added when he saw Hiccup on the table. At the sound of Gobber's voice the 'little bug' started crying. "Eh, now. What's wrong?"

Stoick stood and picked Hiccup up. "He can't see you." Sure enough once in his father's arms, positioned so he could see, the crying stopped.

"This normal now?" Gobber asked with his eyebrows raised and a grin on his face.

Stoick nodded, "You here for a specific reason?" He readjusted Hiccup who was kicking and waving his arms as he prattled in his baby language. Once he was upright rather than cradled Hiccup went back to blowing bubbles.

"Wriggly little thing," Gobber commented, "Jus' stopping by."

"Just stopping by?" Stoick raised his eyebrows and took his beard out of Hiccup's hand before it was put in the baby's mouth. "It's midmorning and you're just stopping by?" Stoick looked around the somewhat disorganized room for something to give Hiccup, how did an immobile baby have toys all over the place? Hiccup was frowning and hitting Stoick's chest; trying to grab some hair again with his imperfect dexterity.

"Well," Gobber scratched his chin, "I also wanted to let ya know I plan to head out for the day."

Stoick had grabbed a wooden toy dragon and given it to Hiccup. It went straight into the baby's mouth. "Today? That's sudden." Stoick was clearly distracted, as he had been since he had become the single parent. Gobber had been counting on this. There was a thunk as the toy dragon hit the floor. All three looked down at it; Hiccup frowning in thought, Gobber in amusement, and Stoick with long suffering patience.

"I'm not picking that up." He told Hiccup. The baby reached up to touch Stoick's mouth as he spoke.

"Little mean, don' ya think?" Gobber chuckled.

"He's been doing that all week. I give it back to him he'll just throw it down again." That was probably how the toys, and spoons, cups, bowls, plates, etc. ended up everywhere. Maybe he should clean up a bit, Stoick thought. He looked down at Hiccup who had bunched a handful of his father's tunic and brought it to his mouth. Hiccup watched his father's eyes as he mouthed the tunic making little sounds. The cloth darkened with the baby's drool. "Keep an eye on the weather. It's storm season and I don't want to be sending a rescue party after you." He pulled his tunic out of his son's mouth.

"Aye, thanks Stoick." Gobber said turning to leave. Stoick nodded absently as he knelt for the toy and gave it back to Hiccup. It was thrown to the floor almost immediately followed by Hiccup's giggle. Stoick let out a sigh.

* * *

The back door was rarely used; maybe Stoick could put the rug at the back of the house for Hiccup to be on the floor. Thistleface had been by earlier with Stoick's nephew, something-lout, and had been scolding Stoick saying that Hiccup wouldn't learn to crawl or walk if he was never on the floor. Stoick didn't need them coming in and telling him how to raise his son; it had been two months and Stoick was doing just fine thank you. Thistleface's offers to take Hiccup in or find a family to do so still came with every visit.

Hiccup fussed a bit pulling Stoick back to the present; it was getting close to supper. Stoick absentmindedly bounced the baby in his arms as he thought about his options. The table was out thanks to the rolling, and Stoick was still uncomfortable with the floor even though he knew Gobber was away. Where had he gone again? Stoick's chair would work so long as he blocked the one open side. What with? A log would work. Stoick grabbed one from the pile, put it on the chair, and then placed his son behind the log. There. Stoick got out the goat's milk to heat up. He hadn't even put the milk over the fire before the crying started. He got out the drinking horn and checked the temperature of the milk. Still cold. The crying only got louder.

"For Thor's sake child, I am right here! Do you want to eat?" Stoick sighed when the crying got louder again. "Hiccup, I am right here. I can't hold you and get your supper at the same time." The crying slowed enough for the baby to hiccup a little, but he kept crying right after. "Oh for the love of, here," Stoick took the two steps from the fire to his chair and picked up his baby. Hiccup quieted and clutched at his father's beard, "You are spoiled. No matter what those women say." Stoick told him as he wiped the remaining tears from his son's eyes with his thumb. He then pulled the chair next to the fire and put Hiccup back down. This time though the baby could see him. Stoick gave Hiccup the wooden spoon to keep him occupied and other than cooing and babbling he kept quiet so long as he could see Stoick.

As Stoick was pouring the heated milk in the horn there was a knock at the door. Hiccup seemed content enough with his spoon so Stoick went to get it. That was a mistake. The spoon was forgotten and the crying started again as Stoick opened the door.

"This a bad time?" Spitelout asked.

"No, he'll stop once I pick him up. Come in." Stoick left the door open and walked back to the chair to pick his son up and give him his supper. "What do you need?" Hiccup took the horn no problem, used to it now.

"I, uh, jus' wanted to see how yer doin'." Spitelout said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Stoick missed the nervous stance though; he was watching Hiccup. At the sound of Spitelout's voice Hiccup forgot about his supper and turned his head to see who else was there.

"You don't have to see everything, Hiccup. Just eat." Stoick said, trying to get his baby to take the horn again. "We're fine, Spite. You didn't come for that; yer wife was here earlier and she would've told you. What do you really want?" Stoick had managed to get Hiccup to eat by holding the horn so his son could see the room.

Spitelout shifted slightly, "Well, what would you say if, umm. You know that goat you had, the one the dragons took last raid?"

"What about it?" Stoick asked.

"What would you say if it were alive? And, the, uh, the dragon that took it brought it back?"

"What kind of a question is that? You been into the ale?"

"No, it's just," Before Spitelout finished the back door was flung open and Gobber burst in. So much for the back of the house being safe.

"Hey Stoick. And Spitelout. Can you come out here for a moment, Stoick?"

Stoick looked from his brother to his friend, "What is with you two?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all." Both men said. That didn't help Stoick's growing suspicion; they were up to something and were in on it together, which was odd. Also concerning; whenever they were working together without being told to it wasn't good.

"What did you do?" Stoick asked. Hiccup was fussing again; there was no chance of him finishing his supper with all the commotion. Which made Stoick more annoyed with Spitelout and Gobber. Couldn't their antics wait till after Hiccup was fed?

Gobber held up his hand, "I promise you, Stoick, we did nothing. Simply have somethin' to show ya. Ya might want to leave the little bug with yer brother. It's a bit nippy out there."

Stoick raised his eyebrows but handed Hiccup to Spitelout along with the drinking horn, "Try and get him to finish it." Stoick ignored how Hiccup reached for him as he followed Gobber out, and pretended he didn't hear the whimpering that soon turned to crying. He hated leaving his son even to go outside, how on earth was he going to handle the hunting party coming up?

Stoick really did forget about his crying baby when he saw _the_ dragon waiting outside. His hand itched for his axe, he had vowed to kill this creature and here it was. He'd kill it with his bare hands right here, right now. The large dragon stood there and regarded him with big eyes, then turned its head around and looked down behind its wing. Stoick strode forward with the intent to end the beast, but Gobber held him back,

"Hang on there, Stoick."

Stoick was about to bark out an order for Gobber to let him go when someone stepped out from behind the monster. Someone familiar, someone he never thought he'd see again. His heart stopped.

"Valka? I- I thought you were-" Stoick couldn't finish the thought. Here she was, unless his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Valka took a deep, shaky breath, "Cloudjumper never meant to hurt me, Stoick, he thought he was taking me away from danger." She never took her hand off of the dragon's head; it was bent to let her reach easily and its eyes were closed as it hummed.

"Cloudjumper? You named the beast?" Stoick took another step forward and Gobber kept a hold of him.

"He isn't a beast, Stoick. He's gentle."

"Gentle? That thing scarred our son and set the nursery on fire." He was raising his voice, he needed to calm down. The monster had opened its eyes and was looking at him. Valka shushed it though, and stared at the ground in front of Stoick.

"It was an accident, you startled him." Valka said it so calmly, so matter of factly. It was aggravating.

"_I_ startled _him_? It tore a hole in our house and had you cornered." So much for calming down. A growling sound rumbled from the beast and it raised its frills and wings to make itself bigger. Stoick tried to respond in kind, but Gobber still had hold of him.

Valka wasn't fazed. She calmly placed a hand on the beast and whispered to it. To Stoick's amazement it settled down. Once it was peaceful again Valka responded to Stoick, "He was playing with Hiccup and was curious about me."

"Playing with him? As the nursery burned?"

Valka stopped for a moment, he had her. "Dragon's don't see fire as a threat, Stoick. Cloudjumper didn't recognize the danger." Her voice was so soft, so sad that Stoick felt the fight go out of him. He looked at the beast. It stood there quietly humming to Valka as she stroked its face, seeming to reassure her. It didn't act like a killer or even dangerous at the moment. In the silence Hiccup's crying became more pronounced. Stoick pushed Gobber's arm off of him and rubbed his face.

"So what are you proposing we do?" He asked.

"If you want the village to accept dragons yer in for a hard fight." Spitelout put in. Stoick turned to him, noticing his presence outside for the first time.

"Where is Hiccup?"

Spitelout shrugged, "In the house. I came out in case Gobber needed some help."

"Hey now, I lost limbs not strength." Gobber said.

"In the house? Where in the house?" Stoick asked as calmly as he could.

"Relax. He's on the table. I know yer thing about the floor."

"On the table? He could roll off the table." Stoick said as he rushed back into the house. Fortunately Hiccup was where he had been left, crying because he was alone. "Alright, I get it; don't leave ya with yer uncle." Stoick said as he picked his baby up. The crying petered out to whimpering and hiccups before stopping. Hiccup stared up at Stoick with his big green eyes still tear washed, his bottom lip pouting out and trembling. Guilt flooded through the Chief. "Now that's not fair," He told the baby, "I'm not the one that left you alone, and I was only gone for a few minutes." More whimpering, Stoick wasn't forgiven yet. "Hush now, you got what you wanted." He said as he held Hiccup close and rubbed his back to soothe him.

When Hiccup stopped whimpering Stoick realized that they were alone; he hadn't been followed. Didn't Valka want to see their son? Hiccup was sucking on Stoick's beard so he tugged that out of the baby's mouth and let him suck on his finger instead and shifted Hiccup so he was cradled in the crook of Stoick's left arm. The dragon seemed peaceful enough; Stoick wouldn't go far from the doorway. Hesitantly Stoick went outside with his baby. Hiccup was making little contented sounds and trying to take hold of Stoick's right hand with his tiny ones, completely unaware of the danger that was only a few feet from his back door.

"You are lucky he was where you left him." Stoick said sternly to his brother. The breeze and movements caught Hiccup's attention and he squirmed so he could see, still sucking on Stoick's finger.

"Oh, he's, he's gotten bigger." Valka said. She stepped away from the dragon and toward her son.

"Told ya," Gobber said to Spitelout, "Pay up."

Of course they had been placing wagers on this. Stoick paid them no heed and focussed instead on his wife and child. Keeping an eye on the beast of course. Valka slowly approached; her eyes on Hiccup the whole way. The baby was equally fascinated with her as she came nearer but made no move toward her, instead he kneaded his father's hand and watched. She gently ran the back of her fingers down his round cheek and he smiled.

"Oh look at you." She said, "Green eyes, I told you Stoick. He'll have your eyes."

Stoick pulled his finger out of Hiccup's mouth and let Valka take him in her arms, "He has to see everything now, else he complains." Stoick told her.

"Oh my wee babe," She bounced him when he started fussing, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again." Hiccup blinked at her and touched her mouth as she spoke. She smiled, "You clever thing, what have you been up to?" Valka leaned her head down to touch her forehead to his. Hiccup smiled, patting her cheek. Valka straightened again and took Hiccup's hand in hers, "He's heavier. I was worried about how he'd eat."

Stoick shifted, "Heated up goat's milk in a drinking horn. He didn't like it at first but he eats it. So long as there are no distractions." He said with a pointed look at the two collaborators. Gobber whistled tunelessly to himself and looked at the sky but Spitelout was a bit sheepish,

"Our timing could have been better, I guess." He said.

Stoick snorted and turned back to his wife and baby. Until he noticed the dragon slinking closer. Stoick moved so he was between the devil and his child; if Valka wanted to be near it there was nothing he could do but he would be damned if he was going to let the beast near his baby.

"Oh Stoick," Valka said, "Cloudjumper's harmless." Of course she was aware of all that was going on. Hiccup caught sight of Stoick and reached for him making insistent noises. Stoick gave in, as usual, but regretted it when he saw how crestfallen Valka was to let Hiccup go.

"It's not going near Hiccup." Stoick said as he settled the child against his shoulder. Unfortunately, Hiccup saw the dragon and started crying. Stoick bounced him, "See?" He said over Hiccup.

Valka shook her head at him, "Hush babe," She was cut off by the dragon who trilled at Hiccup loudly. Hiccup abruptly stopped his crying and stared at the dragon who trilled again, twisting its head to the side. The baby tilted his head at it in response then looked up at his father and babbled a question of nonsense sounds. His cadence was perfect.

"You are not going near that thing." Stoick told him. Valka laughed at the exchange.

"Sad isn't it?" Gobber said, "See what happens to him without ya? Talks to that boy all the time; as if the little bug can understand him." Stoick rolled his eyes. Hiccup might not understand yet, but he was not dumb. Besides, Hiccup liked being talked to; he always tried to talk back. The dragon trilled again, it had moved closer, and twisted its head upside down fanning out its frills. Hiccup laughed in his baby way, the way that broke Stoick down almost every time. He made no move to either stop the dragon or take Hiccup inside. He waited to see if it would make Hiccup laugh again. It crept closer still.

"Valka control that thing if it's so tame." Stoick said. He would tolerate it but it made him nervous that the beast was close to Hiccup.

"Cloudjumper's not a threat, Stoick. He's curious." She walked over to the beast and stopped it from coming closer by putting her hand on it. Gobber and Spitelout both tensed for a fight but the dragon just hummed at her then trilled at the baby again making him squeal.

"Curious?" Stoick said, "You're going with curious?"

"Yes."

Hiccup yawned and laid his head down on Stoick's shoulder, still watching the dragon with a smile. Stoick swayed slightly without thinking about it, used to Hiccup's nightly routine.

"Fine. Any other dragon is fair game. If that one attacks anyone or anything, if it tries to steal anyone or anything, it's fair game too. For now it can stay."

"Really?" Valka said stepping toward him smiling.

Stoick held up his free hand, "Outside the village. No closer to the house than it is now."

Hiccup yawned again and began sucking his thumb; Stoick rubbed his back as he swayed.

"Oh Stoick, he'll not harm us." Valka began. The Chief cut her off,

"No, he won't. I won't let him get close enough to. And I'm not risking Hiccup's safety. The beast's hurt him once it won't do it again. You two," He said to Gobber and Spitelout, "Can go home. We'll be talking in the morning."

"Yes sir." Spitelout said. With a deferential nod he left.

"Ah Stoick, does it really matter how we were involved?" Gobber said.

"You went behind my back and brought a dangerous beast to the outskirts of the village without my knowledge or consent."

Gobber shrugged, "Alright, fair's fair."

"Besides, I let you get away with this there's no telling what the next stunt will be."

Gobber chuckled, "Got us there. Night Stoick. Valka," He nodded at her, "Little bug." He headed down to his place leaving the reunited family and the dragon.

They stood there in silence, Valka stroking her dragon, Stoick rubbing Hiccup's back. The sound of the wind in the trees was loud, making their silence more pronounced. The dragon kept humming quietly and Hiccup was making small sounds as he sucked his thumb. Stoick just felt awkward. Where did they go from here? What should he say?

"I missed you. Both of you." Valka said quietly, breaking the silence, "Cloudjumper took me far away, to a nest. I had no way of coming home. And I didn't dare bring Cloudjumper back even if I found a way."

Stoick narrowed his eyes at the beast, "So you'd abandon us? Abandon Hiccup? For a dragon?"

"Don't say it like that." Valka was staring at the ground, clearly too ashamed to meet his eyes or even look at Hiccup. Maybe that had been the wrong question but Stoick was angry. Not only for his part but on Hiccup's behalf; the boy deserved to have his mother.

"I, I didn't know what to do." Valka continued, "The dragons in the nest, they kept bringing me their hatchlings. I think they knew I missed my own babe. I can't kill them Stoick, I can't even watch them be killed now. Not after what I've seen. There's no place for me here." She paused for a moment but Stoick waited, knowing she wasn't done yet, "I, I have no place in Hiccup's life." Stoick felt his heart break for her as she drew in a ragged breath, "He's better off without me if he's to be a Viking. You're better off without me here to ruin your reputation." She still kept her eyes fixed on the ground. The dragon next to her nuzzled Valka's arm but she paid it no heed in her guilt.

"Valka," Stoick forgot himself and stepped closer to her. "You matter more to me than my reputation."

The dragon trilled and swivelled its head, reminding Stoick that it was there and Hiccup was in his arms. Stoick stopped where he was but held his hand out to his wife. She hesitated looking from her dragon to her husband and Stoick felt as if his heart had turned to lead. Valka was unsure, unsure if she wanted to go home to him and their baby or stay with a wild creature. Hiccup turned his head so it rested under Stoick's chin and pressed in closer, still sucking his thumb. He needed to go to bed; he shouldn't be out in the cold autumn air after the sun had gone down. Stoick was about to drop his hand and go inside when the dragon butted its head into Valka's back, pushing her toward Stoick. Maybe the beast wasn't so bad after all. They didn't say anything, they didn't need to. Valka gave him a nervous smile and brushed her finger on Hiccup's cheek. He turned his head into Stoick more but kept his eyes on Valka. Stoick was tempted to pass their son to her but Hiccup was finicky when he was tired so it was probably best not to. They went inside their home together, the awkwardness still palpable, and the dragon curled up outside in the dark.

* * *

**A/N: So I have spent so much time on baby and motherhood sites that my personalized Google adds are about pampers and pregnancy tests... but baby Hiccup. If his development seems a bit odd it's because we know he was a premature baby and they are behind developmentally, but Hiccup shows signs of being what the Alberta education system refers to as "gifted" which means his baby development would have been ahead of time in some areas. Plus I'm guessing that Valka was taken when he was about six months and separation anxiety would possibly have been kicking in at that time. Hiccup's primary caregiver left and did not come back, causing him to be overly sensitive to Stoick leaving. And fun fact about babies: they don't have a sense of object permanence. If they can't see it it has ceased to exist. Hence Hiccup needing to see Stoick. **

**Hopelessromanic4life: Oh, the bundle will be explained. The bundle is important and how she got it will come up, but for now you only need to know that it exists. The what, why, how, and where will be given in due time.**

**As always, special thanks to CB for the edit.**


	3. Catching Up

Stoick woke to Hiccup crying, as he usually did at least once a night. His eyes didn't want to open and Hiccup could wait a bit. As the fogginess lifted Stoick focussed on the crying; he could generally tell the wants of the child by the different cries Hiccup made. This cry wasn't the piercing wail of fear or injury; but it wasn't attention seeking whimpers either. Most likely the boy woke up hungry and in discomfort due to teething. However, as Stoick sat up and rubbed his face, still getting his bearings, he realized the crying was off. Hiccup's crib was at the end of the bed but the sound was coming from the main room. Sleepiness gone Stoick shot out of bed and into the next room only to find Valka bouncing Hiccup and pacing the room singing softly in the low light of the banked fire. The baby was having none of it. Stoick took a relieved breath, feeling somewhat foolish for forgetting about the events of the night before. He straightened up,

"Val. I forgot you were here."

She looked up at him with frazzled eyes. "Does it always take you this long to get him?" He heard the smile in her voice but it didn't reach her eyes. Hiccup kept crying and stretched out his arms for Stoick.

"I don't know why he won't settle." Valka said. Stoick went to the icebox and pulled out the goat's milk. He then put the milk over the fire to heat up, stoked the fire, and reached to take Hiccup. Valka handed him over.

"Can you get some ale?" Stoick asked as he tucked Hiccup into the crook of his arm. This was easier with another person.

"He's teething." Valka said as if she should have thought of that. Well, Hiccup had cut his first tooth about a month before she was taken. Two months had passed since though. Stoick nodded.

"He didn't finish his evening feeding either. He doesn't usually eat at night anymore." Stoick said as he dipped his finger in the ale and rubbed it on Hiccup's gums. Then he let his son gnaw on the finger while waiting for the milk to heat up.

"What else have I missed?" Valka asked. She sounded sad. Stoick shifted his weight from foot to foot out of his element.

"Ah, not that much," Stoick kept his eyes on Hiccup. The baby had stopped chewing and was now sucking on Stoick's finger in the forceful way he did when he was hungry. He'd start up again if he wasn't fed soon.

"Don't you try and spare my feelings, Stoick. Two and a half months is a long time for a baby. I've probably missed a lot." Her hands were on her hips in that stance that meant he wouldn't win if he tried to fight. The fact that she also had been keeping track of time was a relief; it showed that she had at least thought of them.

Stoick checked the temperature of the milk. "Fine. Can you pour the milk, please?" He nodded to Hiccup's drinking horn on the table. Valka picked it up and poured the milk, "That's good," Stoick said. Too much and Hiccup wouldn't eat his breakfast, he only needed enough to tide him over till then. Hiccup reached for the horn when he saw it and Stoick smiled at him, "He's smart, Val. Almost talking. He rolled over today. I don't put him on the floor though,"

"Gobber." She said laughing, "Some things never change."

Stoick smiled, "No, they don't." He watched Hiccup eating for a moment. "He hates being alone now, and doesn't like strangers. I'm lucky if Gobber's able to distract him enough for five minutes. Just earlier he was in the chair wailin' away cause he couldn't see me. I was two steps from him, Val. Two steps and it wasn't good enough." Stoick smiled at Hiccup, still not looking at Valka. "Throws things on the floor too. Sits if he's held up, doesn't have the balance to do it on his own. Won't eat or sleep if somethin's going on. Must see it or he complains. Chatters up a storm too, all nonsense sounds, but he talks."

Valka smiled as she listened, but there were tears in her eyes. "I missed a lot." She said watching her baby nurse from a hollowed out horn, drinking goat's milk instead of her milk. Hiccup held on to Stoick's finger and watched his father as he ate.

"You didn't miss anything big. You were here when he cut his first tooth. And you haven't missed his first word or his first steps."

"But I would have." She said running her finger along Hiccup's cheek. He turned a bit to watch her with sleepy eyes. "Has he slept through the night yet?"

Hiccup finished the milk and pushed at the horn with his hands, squirming in his father's arms. Stoick put the horn down on the table and shifted Hiccup so he was upright. "Well, nearly," He dipped a clean rag in the water barrel and gave it to Hiccup as a pacifier.

Valka raised an eyebrow, "Nearly? Stoick Haddock do you pick that child up every time he cries?"

"Well," Stoick wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Oh Stoick." She smiled, "He's taking advantage of you."

Hiccup dropped the rag and watched it fall. "Now don't you start that again." Stoick said to him. He got a new rag since Valka was there, "He's 36 weeks old, Val, he can't knowingly take advantage of anyone."

"That child has had you wrapped around his little finger since he came into this world." Valka laughed, "He's testing your boundaries. How can he learn to do anything for himself if you do it all for him?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true." Valka said with a smile.

Stoick held on to a corner of the rag this time so it wouldn't fall if dropped. Resigned, Hiccup laid his head on Stoick's shoulder and sucked on the rag quietly. There was a twinkle in Valka's eyes as she watched the scene. Oh, how Stoick had missed her.

"Do you make him go to sleep on his own at least?" The glint in her eye and smile tugging at the corners of her mouth meant she already knew the answer. "You rock him to sleep in your arms. Oh Hiccup, Daddy spoils you." Valka said stroking Hiccup's hair. Stoick rolled his eyes; he did not rock Hiccup to sleep. He simply didn't put the boy to bed until he _was_ asleep. There was a difference, but Stoick didn't feel the need to point that out right now. Hiccup blinked at his mother slowly as she stroked his hair then looked up at his father before cuddling closer. "We should go back to bed. You want to try letting him put himself to sleep?"

"Ah," Stoick looked down at Hiccup who rubbed his tired eyes as he sucked slowly on the rag. "Well, he's almost asleep now. We could try for his morning nap."

Valka rolled her eyes, "Fine. He'll have to learn eventually you know."

Stoick nodded absently, "Of course."

* * *

It was risky, dangerous, Valka thought as she and Cloudjumper wove through the dark passages; it was a little tight for the dragon but he refused to let Valka do this alone and she was grateful for the company. What if they were caught? This was theft, but not really. It was along those lines surely. Maybe not. Valka was unsure as she and Cloudjumper made their way through the dark, what would the punishment be if they were caught? She held back a curse as she slipped a little on the uneven ground but Cloudjumper steadied her. Valka took a deep breath, they most likely would not be caught. Every living thing here slept. Still, she jumped at every sound as she cradled her precious bundle. They should never have left the nest. She turned a corner and felt a breeze of fresh air hit her. They were almost out now but by the sound of it the wind was strong. Sure enough a gale raged outside; the rain coming in sheets and the wind howling. How would they escape in this? Cloudjumper moved forward though, and hummed encouragingly for Valka to climb on his back. They took off into the wind and were immediately swept along into the freezing rain that wet Valka to the bone as a clap of thunder boomed overhead.

A loud snore woke Valka as Stoick shifted in his sleep beside her. The predawn light was coming through the small, high window. The morning was calm in contrast to her racing heart as she recalled her dream. The events of the night before were just as odd. Valka had never thought she would be back in this bed again, be in this house again. She had grieved for her husband and son as if they were dead in the two months she had been gone. Valka had not grieved for her old life though. There was so much freedom in her new one. Slowly, so she didn't wake her husband, Valka got out of the bed to check the cradle.

Hiccup was awake. He blinked up at her with his big green eyes wide and the toes of his left foot in his mouth. She smoothed his downy hair.

"Morning, sweet thing," Valka said as she lifted Hiccup out of the cradle. He was quiet as she brought him into the main room and changed him on the floor. He should be fed, but she couldn't feed him herself and didn't know what to do with the goat's milk. The baby would have to wait for his father to wake up. Hiccup didn't seem to mind as he reached for Valka's braid that fell over her shoulder. She smiled at him and he grinned back.

"Oh I missed you, my happy babe." She said tickling his round tummy causing him to giggle. She bent down to blow on his belly and he squealed kicking his feet. "I should check on Cloudjumper," She said picking Hiccup up and settling him on her hip. How had she thought that she could go the rest of her life never seeing her baby again? Hiccup looked around the room and seemed to notice that Stoick wasn't there for the first time. Hiccup started whimpering.

"Hush babe, it's alright. I've got you, Mama's got you." She bounced him and swayed. Her dream came back to her as she shushed her baby, "You don't need your daddy, Hiccup, Mama's got you. Let's let him sleep for a bit, okay?" Hiccup wouldn't be shushed though and his crying would soon wake Stoick. With a sigh Valka made her decision. She needed to go to Cloudjumper.

* * *

**A/N: Bit of fluff bit of filler in this chapter. Have I mentioned how much I love the idea of Stoick with baby Hiccup? The poor guy doesn't know what he's doing and he's just so big and Hiccup's so tiny and it's all so adorable. I imagine this big gruff bear of a man stomping around with this little bug of a baby that demands attention and gets it because he's a baby and you don't refuse a baby anything. You know unless you know what you're doing and are helping the baby learn to be independent and soothe itself and all.**

**There won't be a chapter next week or the week after because I am heading south of the boarder and spending Christmas with my family at my Aunt's in the boonies of Alabama. There will be limited internet because we are so far away from town which will be nice but no uploading. **_**Imprint **_**will be back on January 7. Just a reminder that **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** will be back January 21. This means that **_**Imprint **_**will then be on a break and I don't know for how long because I haven't divided the next part of OFN up into chapters yet. Possibly six or seven weeks.**

**A Random Person: I read so much about babies for research. I have babysat toddlers and worked at a summer camp and on school programs but I needed to research baby development to get baby Hiccup right. Stoick is so in the dark by the way. The kid would be a bit further along if his poor father knew what he was doing.**

**Guest: Oh the eye thing. This is a great pet peeve of mine. Hiccup has Stoick's eyes. You can clearly see this in HTTYD 1. In HTTYD2 we can see that Valka has blue eyes, not green. The Dreamworks dragons site confirms this. Hiccup and Stoick have green eyes, Valka has blue. I don't know where the whole "He has his mother's eyes" thing came from but I twitch whenever I see it. Probably because it's one of the few features Hiccup shares with his father and the fandom for some reason wants to take that away. I also like to think that Hiccup got his freckles from his father but we can't see them due to his wild, bushy beard. Hiccup does have his mother's nose and mouth though. Sadly, I spent a good deal of time looking at screencaps finding the features because it comes up in one of my stories (I don't remember which) partly because it's a winter/Christmas past time of adults to 'find the features' in kids where I'm from. Oh the horror of standing still so your elders can get a 'good look at you' and determine whether you have your father's nose or your mother's. Ugh. So of course I've got to subject Hiccup to it.**

**For all those who said how much they love baby Hiccup/ baby Hiccup and Stoick thank you! They are so much fun to write. Also, Hiccup's going to be a baby for a bit and then a toddler (It's a slow story). He isn't in the main plot for a while but is usually there in the background so if there is anything you'd like to see with baby or toddler Hiccup feel free to suggest it for little mini stories in the chapters because he is adorable and I love writing him. **

**One of you guessed pretty near the mark about the bundle, by the way, but I won't say who. You're a lot closer than CB who gave up and said it was a cat… which I now want to add to the story. There was one in the books so I can…**

**As always thanks to CB for the edit.**


	4. Lingonberries

If there wasn't a dragon raid Stoick was not quick to wake up. Through the fogginess of sleep he could tell that something was moving on the bed next to him; something small. What could possibly have gotten into his house and climbed onto his bed? He could hear Hiccup talking to himself in his baby language so Stoick knew the boy was okay. In fact, as Stoick woke up more he could tell that Hiccup was closer than his crib. It sounded like he was on the bed. Wait, that couldn't be right, Stoick opened his eyes and sat up. Sure enough, Hiccup was lying on his back on the bed.

"How did you get up here?" Stoick asked him, Hiccup smiled in response and held up his hands for Stoick to pick him up. This wasn't good. Stoick had thought rolling over was an issue but climbing out of his crib and onto the bed? He had no idea Hiccup would learn that quickly. Was such fast development normal? Getting out of bed Stoick picked Hiccup up.

"Alright, let's get you changed and fed." Funny, when Stoick checked Hiccup's diaper, he found it dry. There was a rustle from the main room. Valka. Valka was here. Stoick let out a breath in relief. She must've changed Hiccup and put him on the bed. The baby had not learned to climb out of his crib overnight. Stoick left the bedroom.

"Is there a reason you put him on the bed?" He asked his wife.

She looked up from the oatmeal she was stirring and smiled, "Did it startle you?"

Hiccup started fussing so Stoick let him suck on his finger, "Thought he managed to get there on his own." He said sheepishly, "Has he eaten?" Hiccup was forcefully sucking on Stoick's finger rather than using it as a pacifier.

Valka shook her head sadly, "I can't feed him anymore. I was unsure about the goat's milk so I waited for you. Hiccup seemed fine with it. He wanted to be with you anyway."

"Oh Val," Stoick stepped closer to her, "It's just been him and me for a couple of months, soon enough he'll prefer you again." Stoick passed Hiccup to her so he could get the milk ready. Hiccup started his fake crying routine, lots of whimpers with no tears.

"He's always preferred you." Valka said with a smile. She offered the baby a rag but he pushed it away, "Do you give in to this?" She asked as she bounced Hiccup.

Stoick waved his hand, "He isn't really upset. Just hungry and complainin.'" He put the milk over the fire, next to the pot of oatmeal. "Val? What's this?" He nudged a sizable black rock with his foot. It was smooth with rounded edges and almost as big as Hiccup.

"Oh, somethin' I picked up on a mountain. I like it." Valka said shifting Hiccup in her arms. The baby had stopped crying and was toying with Valka's tunic.

"So you brought it in here. Does this mean you plan on stayin'?" Stoick tried unsuccessfully to keep the hope out of his voice. The prospect of her staying made him unbelievably happy. It was the same feeling he'd had when she said she would marry him, when she told him she was pregnant for the first time, when he had held Hiccup and was able to watch each little breath and knew that this one would live.

Valka held Hiccup's hand keeping her eyes on him and not her husband. "I don't know, Stoick. I can't abandon Cloudjumper. You and Hiccup don't need me, you have each other."

Stoick cupped her cheek in his hand and gently made her look him in the eye, "I'm lost without you." They stood like that for a while. Until Hiccup started crying for real, breaking the spell.

"Poor babe wants his breakfast." Valka said, smoothing his hair back. Stoick didn't say anything as he checked the milk and poured it into the horn. It had been left for too long and needed to cool a bit before Hiccup could have it. The baby cried louder when he saw the horn and Stoick checked it to make sure it wouldn't burn him, it was warmer than Hiccup liked but would be fine. He gave the horn to Valka so she could feed their baby. Hungry as he may be, however, Hiccup refused to accept the milk from her and kept reaching for his father.

"Oh you stubborn thing." Valka said, giving up, "Get a thought in your head and you won't give it up. Here, Stoick, you feed him."

Stoick took Hiccup, settled him in his arm, and took the horn. Hiccup accepted it eagerly. "Not so fast, Hiccup, you'll upset your stomach." Hiccup showed no signs of slowing down so Stoick pulled the horn away for a moment, "Slow down or you'll spit it up." Frowning, Hiccup reached for the horn.

Valka was laughing at him, "He's a babe, Stoick, he can't understand you. Smart as he may be." She brushed her fingers through the baby's hair and he looked at her while he fed, slowing down finally. "May I ask about this?" She fingered the sleeve of Hiccup's baby gown. Hiccup wrapped his hand around her finger.

"Hand down from Thistleface's baby. Hiccup outgrew his old clothes." Stoick told her.

"Stoick, the sleeves need to be rolled up." She laughed, "He's swimming in this thing."

"I tried to fix that, but it's too tiny."

"You tried to alter his baby clothes? Your fingers are thicker than his arms."

"That's why I couldn't fix them. He's not that small." Stoick said, affronted at the perceived insult to his child. Vikings, even baby Vikings, were big and strong.

Valka rolled her eyes, "What were your plans for when he started walking? Snotlout's old clothes would be too long. They'd trip him up."

Stoick shrugged and poured the milk left in the horn back into the pot he had used to heat it up and shifted Hiccup so he was upright and no longer cradled. With a small cough Hiccup spat up some of the milk. Stoick sighed and wet a rag to clean Hiccup's gown.

"I told you." Stoick said. Hiccup took no heed and tapped at Stoick's mouth. He coughed again and spat up a little more. "See? Don't eat so fast." Stoick wiped Hiccup's mouth and chin, avoiding the baby's hands as he tried to take the rag.

"I'll take in his clothes," Valka said, "So the babe can wear something that fits." She rolled up a sleeve that had fallen to cover Hiccup's hand and kissed him on the forehead. She went to get his clothes and the sewing kit.

Stoick stood in the room holding Hiccup, unsure of what to do. Should he act as if it was a normal day? What about the dragon? Gods, he had forgotten about that. Pulling his beard out of Hiccup's hands Stoick headed for the back door, grabbing a wooden cup to give Hiccup on the way.

He opened the door, hoping the beast had flown away. No such luck. There it lay, curled on the ground behind his house. Hiccup squealed reaching for it and Stoick instinctively used his free hand to keep Hiccup from leaning too far forward. The devil lifted its head and trilled at the baby, it seemed almost happy to see him, but it was just a dumb beast so Stoick was imagining it. Hiccup giggled and clapped his hands in delight, still holding the cup in one of them.

"He's still here, Stoick." Valka said from behind him. "Cloudjumper won't leave without me. Besides, he can't; he dislocated both right wings in that storm the other night."

Hiccup was jabbering at the dragon which was coming closer. In the morning light Stoick noticed a slight limp as it moved. Narrowing his eyes at it Stoick turned and went back into the house.

"Keep it away from the house and the village." He said as Hiccup wailed in protest of going inside again. The cup was thrown and landed with a thud, distracting the baby. Stoick handed him a plate rather than picking up the cup.

"He'll stay up here." Valka promised, picking up the cup, "You always give the baby our dinnerware?"

Stoick grunted, "Keeps him busy." Hiccup looked up at his father as he gummed the plate. "I've got to go have a word with Gobber and Spitelout." He said, smoothing Hiccup's hair down.

"Are you taking Hiccup?" Valka asked as she found a seam ripper in the sewing basket.

Stoick wiped drool from Hiccup's chin with his thumb, "It's what I've been doing. However," Stoick paused, momentarily uncomfortable, "I can leave him. If you want." Hiccup took the plate out of his mouth, stared at it, then threw it on the floor and laughed. He babbled to Stoick, smiling.

"Take him. People will ask if you don't and I'm not ready to answer their questions yet." Valka kept her head down and focussed on the seams she was removing. Stoick stood there watching her. "Just go, Stoick. I'll be here when you get back."

Taking a deep breath Stoick grabbed Hiccup's hood and put it on the protesting baby. "I'll be back." Valka didn't respond or look up from her work so Stoick left. Hiccup stopped trying to get the hood off to watch her over his father's shoulder. Valka waved to Hiccup, earning her a smile from the baby.

Hiccup loved being outside; he was always quiet as he watched everything with wide green eyes. Stoick never had to worry about keeping him entertained or distracted; every person, bird, leaf, and breeze did that for him. Hiccup did not, however, like the hood he had to wear. Part way down the hill he started crying. Stoick checked him to find the baby had somehow turned the hood around, covering his eyes. Hiccup was pulling at the cloth the best he could. With a chuckle Stoick turned it back around.

"Leave it be, Hiccup." He said stopping Hiccup's hands from pulling on it again. Thankfully a bird flew by and Hiccup forgot about the hood.

Stoick decided to talk to Spitelout first, it wouldn't take as long and Hiccup could play with his cousin. Thistleface welcomed Stoick and Hiccup in and the baby was placed on his stomach on the floor next to his cousin. Stoick accepted a mug of tea as he sat at the table with Sptitelout.

"So." Stoick said. Spitelout wouldn't look at him. In a single moment he reverted back to a child who had been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing by his older brother. Stoick rolled his eyes, "Care to explain yourself?"

Spitelout shrugged, "Heard the dragon was on an island nearby and went out that way on a fishin' trip." He said quietly so his wife wouldn't hear. At least he was being discrete. "When I got close I saw 'er. Told Gobber and he said not to tell ya till we knew more. He went out to talk; she refused to come home without the beast and then only if we promised no harm would come to it."

Stoick raised his eyebrows, "So you decided to bring it back to the village?"

Before Spitelout could answer there was a shout of "Mine!" followed by Hiccup crying.

"Snotlout!" Thistleface said, "No. We do not hit babies."

Stoick turned to see Thistleface take a toy away from her toddler who whined "Mine!" again before being led to the bedroom for a time out. Hiccup was still crying on the floor. Stoick left the table and picked his baby up, checking for cuts or bumps.

"Yer fine, Hiccup." He said as he sat down, propping Hiccup up on his lap.

"Sorry 'bout that, Stoick," Thistleface began but Stoick waved her off. They were babies, you couldn't expect much from them.

"You were saying?" Stoick turned to his brother again. He let Hiccup chew on his thumb to quiet him.

"It was hurt and seemed as quiet as a kitten with her. We had our weapons." Spitelout was somewhat relaxed now; his brother was far less intimidating with a baby on his lap chewing on his thumb.

Thistleface bustled over with a bowl and spoon. "Has he eaten?" She pointed at the baby.

"He had his milk." Stoick said.

"But solids? He's 35 weeks,"

"36." Stoick corrected. He pointedly ignored her sympathetic head shake at the fact that Hiccup looked younger than he was due to his small size. The boy would grow.

"36 weeks, Stoick, he should be given more than milk."

He should? Since when? Oh gods, was Stoick starving his baby?

"Here," Thistleface handed Stoick the bowl. It contained a red mush. Were those lingonberries? "Only a little at a time. He might need to figure out how to swallow it so more could be spit out than eaten. Would you like me to do it before I feed Snotlout?"

"No. Thank you, but he's not hungry." At least, Stoick thought he wasn't. He was pretty certain he knew how to tell, but he hadn't known to give Hiccup solid food so did he really know anything?

"A couple of spoonfuls see how he does with it." Thistleface said as she went to get her toddler. Normally, Spitelout would intervene but right now it was taking the heat off him so he said nothing. Hiccup was grabbing at the bowl, used to being given whatever his father was holding. Stoick moved it out of his reach and Hiccup frowned.

"Fine." Stoick scooped a small amount of the bright red mush, aware of how small his baby's mouth was. Hiccup was trying to grab at the spoon so Stoick put the bowl on the table and held one of Hiccup's hands. He tipped the contents of the spoon into Hiccup's mouth. The expression on the baby's face was comical. He looked up at Stoick with shocked, wide eyes as he smacked his lips, not really sure what to do. Stoick chuckled as he used the spoon to wipe the mush off Hiccup's chin and the baby opened his mouth to try it again. Several spoonfuls later Hiccup was no longer interested in eating the berries, wanting to play with them instead. Stoick put the spoon in the bowl and pushed it away. Snotlout had finished his meal and was sitting by his father's feet, upset that Hiccup was getting all the attention as he bashed one of his toys into the floor repeatedly.

Spitelout shook his head, "What a mess. How'd he get it in his hair?"

"It's on his hands," Stoick said, he used the damp cloth Thistleface gave him to wipe off Hiccup's hands and face. Then Stoick wiped the worst of it out of Hiccup's hair. He'd give Hiccup a bath when they got home.

"Here," Thistleface took the baby, "He probably needs to be changed. You clean up; he got it on you as well." Sure enough there was berry mush in Stoick's beard. Hiccup predictably started crying when he was taken from his father but Stoick ignored that as he wiped lingonberry mush out of his beard.

"So, your excuse is that the beast was injured and you had your weapons?" Stoick asked Spitelout.

His brother rubbed the back of his neck, "And it's tame. Really, it is, Stoick. I couldn't believe it either but she, she did something to it. Follows her around, listens to every command. It's weird but I don't think it's dangerous. Besides, it was all Gobber's idea I just went along with it."

Stoick rolled his eyes, of course. "Fine. I'll go talk to him. But you aren't getting away completely. There's still the matter of insubordination." Spitelout nodded, accepting. Stoick would have to decide on the punishment later. He got up, nodded to his brother, retrieved Hiccup from Thistleface, and left. Hiccup cuddled in as he usually did when someone else had been holding him, clutching Stoick's beard with a death grip.

Stoick rolled his eyes, "It was a few minutes, Hiccup, and you know yer Aunt." Hiccup didn't let go. Stoick realized, though, that the baby hadn't acted like this with Valka. True, he still wanted Stoick to hold him instead but he didn't cry or carry on the way he did with most people.

Hiccup was sleepy on the way to the forge after he calmed down. They neared the open stall and the noises coming from inside woke him up. Hopefully Gobber didn't have a lot to do and this wouldn't take very long. Stoick ducked inside.

"Hey Stoick." Gobber said, after checking to see who it was, "I'da thought you'd leave the bug at home." He finished sharpening the sword and threw it on a rack with the others. Stoick cringed a bit at the carelessness.

"I always bring him with me and Val's not ready to see anyone yet."

Gobber didn't turn to face him after that first glance. He brushed off the sharpening stone instead, "Ah. What's in his hair? Looks a bit like blood."

This was the sort of thing Stoick had wanted to avoid, "Lingonberries. He had some at Spitelout's."

Finally, Gobber stopped what he was doing to face Stoick, but he addressed Hiccup, "Goes in yer mouth, bug, not yer hair."

Hiccup smiled, knowing that he was being spoken to, but didn't lift his head off Stoick's shoulder or take his thumb out of his mouth.

"Doesn't he usually sleep around this time?" Gobber asked, sifting through more weapons, testing the blades. He was stalling, Stoick could tell and it was getting aggravating.

"Yes. That's why I'd like to keep this conversation short."

"Well, I'd rather not have it at all. Ya missed her wife ya got 'er back. All you got to do is put up with one measly beastie. And she's got it trained up pretty good."

"It's a dragon." Stoick had to remind himself to keep his voice down. Both to ward off unwanted attention and to let Hiccup fall asleep.

"An' she's yer wife. You could trust her." Gobber picked out a dull blade and sat to sharpen it as Stoick sniffed. Gobber continued, "Do ya really think she'd bring that beastie here if it was a threat ta Hiccup?"

Stoick looked down at his son. Hiccup was fingering Stoick's tunic with one hand and sucking the thumb of his other, his eyes half closed. Stoick sighed, "You're right."

Gobber shrugged a shoulder, "Course I am. Head on home, Stoick, put the bug down for his nap, and talk with yer wife."

Stoick adjusted Hiccup's hood, "You're not always right you know."

"I know a thing or two, Stoick." Gobber said with a smile, "Go home." Stoick nodded and left.

Getting home took a while; Stoick was constantly stopping to deal with village issues. Hiccup fell asleep somewhere along the way. The bath would have to wait till Hiccup woke up. The house was quiet; there were folded baby gowns on the table and no sign of Valka. She had promised to stay though; at least until he returned so she must be around somewhere. Stoick went into the bedroom to put Hiccup down in his crib. He then went to the backdoor to see if the dragon was still here and found Valka. She was sitting behind the beast's head rubbing its scales, murmuring to it. The sun hit her hair just right, bringing out the deep red tones in the brown.

"Val," Stoick took a step toward her and the beast. She didn't look up, didn't acknowledge him. "Val," He took a deep breath, looking down at his feet, "It can stay. The dragon, your dragon. It can stay. I can't end the war, if they attack we will fight, but." He took another breath, still watching his feet. "If you care about it, him, this much it, he, can stay and no one will harm it, him." Stoick felt her hand on his cheek, he hadn't noticed her approaching. He looked from the ground to her cloudy blue eyes,

"Thank you."

* * *

**A/N: The idea of Stoick "starving" his baby comes from the time my mom randomly said: "I think I starved you as a baby." Which struck me funny. She explained that she didn't know what she was doing and probably should have fed me solid foods sooner and more often. I imagine poor Stoick would make the same mistake. I also watched a few videos of babies eating solid food for the first time on Youtube and their faces when they first taste it are so funny. Everything from shocked to appalled to pleased.**

**Daddy!Stoick just makes me smile. Oh the mistakes he makes and how oblivious he is. Plus, Stalka is growing more and more on me as I write this. They're just so wonderfully awkward. I imagine Hiccup got much of his clumsiness and stammering from his father, we see bits of that especially in HTTYD 1 and it's fun to write him because he goes from being Chief Stoick the Vast to stuttering awkward Stoick in love and Stoick the father. And yes, yes Stoick is "starving his baby" even as a preemie Hiccup should have been on solids before 36 weeks… according to all the baby sites I have visited. I'm looking forward to toddler Hiccup though because then he can say simple words and sentences, walk, get into things, and use crying to get his way with Stoick. I don't think Valka or Cloudjumper would fall for it. Not sure about Gobber though…**

**Story Stalkers: I love that idea! A mangy cat with patches of fur missing that just keeps surviving against the odds **** I think I have it worked out on how and where to add it but it won't be for a while.**

**Kitty.0: Yes, Valka is trying. I think Hiccup recognizes her somewhat but Stoick's been there for him so he trusts his father more. Plus, like you say, Stoick knows Hiccup's tells. Hiccup will get used to Valka again but I think he'll be more of a daddy's boy than a mama's boy.**

**Guest 1: Stoick's eyes are a lighter green but they are green. As for his nose I don't know. I went back and looked at a bunch of screencaps again (and double checked the eyes too) and it could go either way. The bridge of his nose is more like Valka's but he could have a younger version of Stoick's nose or a masculine version of Valka's. I'm really unsure now. I guess it depends on who's looking at it. Sometimes features are foggy like that so I'll have to go and fix that part in my other story when I edit it. And thank you! Beowulf is probably my favourite chapter too, right up there with the oneshot: "Not His Type". **

**KaliAnn: I don't necessarily think Valka's the better parent; she knows what she's doing while Stoick doesn't but I think Hiccup was raised by the better parent. That comes up more as the story goes on. I have also started concept work on another story where Valka does raise Hiccup and it definitely comes up in that story.**

**Guest 2: You're welcome? I'm kind of confused about the theory and inconsistencies you're talking about.**

**Rain of the Forest: Not quite. Valka isn't mean; she loves Stoick and wouldn't take Hiccup away from him. Everything will be made clear next chapter.**


	5. New Developments

8

A month and a half had passed since Valka's return. While the people were uneasy with the dragon they did not argue with their chief, especially because they couldn't find an argument other than "it's a dragon." Stoick himself was having difficulty adjusting to having the monster around but he tried to not let Valka see. There had been no dragon raids since Valka came back due to the onset of winter, which made accepting the beast easier. Stoick trudged through the snow into the woods behind his house to get yet more firewood. The snow crunched as the beast, Cloudjumper, followed him. They didn't really need more firewood but Stoick was off to get some anyway to give Valka time with Hiccup. The baby was getting better and better at being left with his mother but he still cried when Stoick went out the door.

There was a crack and snow flew up to Stoick's right; the dragon had snapped a large branch off of a tree and was looking at Stoick expectantly. It was as if the monster wanted to get along and be liked. It was helpful, Stoick thought, and hadn't been in the least bit aggressive. At times Stoick found himself liking its company outside in the cold, its warm body temperature kept the air around him warm. At least, that was how Stoick justified it. After cutting up the branch and putting the firewood away Stoick headed back into the warmth of his home. It was pretty cold out, maybe Valka had reason to complain about her dragon being left out there unsheltered all the time.

Getting used to a dragon wasn't the only change in the past month: Hiccup was now 43 weeks and was an adamant crawler. Stoick often found himself wishing his baby had not learned that particular skill. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be left on the floor without Hiccup getting his chubby little hands on it; weapons, scabbards, food, baskets, clothing, tools all had to be put up high out of the baby's reach. He could pull himself to his feet with the help of a chair or the table to get things that had been left near the edge. Stoick almost had a heart attack when Hiccup nearly knocked a hunting knife down on himself. The fire was another issue; Hiccup had developed a habit of attempting to crawl into it. It was as if the kid was looking to get hurt. Stoick's only saving grace was the child's short attention span and his love of stacking items. Stoick would give him cups, bowls, and his wooden toys to occupy him, but he could never be left unsupervised even for a moment.

Valka was having her own difficulties: she wanted to bring Hiccup out to see Cloudjumper but Stoick was stubbornly against it despite his growing acceptance of the stormcutter. She had considered taking Hiccup out back to see Cloudjumper when Stoick wasn't home but she wanted him to accept dragons. Going behind his back probably wasn't the best way to go about it. Particularly since Stoick was so overprotective of Hiccup. Though allowing Cloudjumper to remain in the village Valka knew Stoick still saw the dragon as a possible threat. There would be no way in Hel he would willingly allow Hiccup near the dragon. Definitely an issue Valka had to address. Stoick loved Hiccup, of that Valka had no doubt, but he was hindering Hiccup's development. Since she had got back Valka had been on his case about the amount he would do for Hiccup, insisting that the boy would never learn to do things for himself if Stoick was always doing it for him. Though verbally agreeing Stoick proceeded to go behind her back and give in to the baby. Valka tried to balance that out. Hiccup still preferred his father though.

Winters were always quiet as the weather kept everyone indoors, either in their homes or in the Great Hall. Valka went for daily flights, weather permitting, coming home with frost in her hair, red cheeks, and a huge smile.

She was away on a flight this morning and Stoick sat carving a set of wooden blocks for Hiccup. As everything the baby touched went in his mouth Stoick made sure every side and edge of them was smooth.

"Hiccup, no." The baby stopped and looked at Stoick when he heard his name and smiled. "Don't you give me that. Stay away from the fire, Hiccup."

The baby sat where he was and picked up a wooden yak. He turned it over in his hands, frowning as he inspected it. Stoick went back to carving, keeping an eye on his son who was now chewing on the yak. Next time he looked up the yak was left on the floor half covered in drool and Hiccup had somehow moved closer to the fire. He was hitting the black rock Valka had brought home. When did he get so fast?

"Hiccup!" Stoick put his carving aside and got up to kneel next to the fire with the intention of picking up Hiccup. "Why are you so insistent on-" The rock moved. On its own. Hiccup frowned and patted at it. It cracked. Stoick grabbed Hiccup and held him close, away from the rock. The crack grew and a piece fell away, pushed by a small black nose. It wasn't a rock; it was an egg. Hiccup held his hands out toward the egg, demanding to have it in his baby language.

"No. you can't have that thing, Hiccup." Stoick said looking around for something he could use to push the egg away. He glanced back at the egg in time to see the top pushed off and a black head emerge. Bright green eyes met Stoick's.

Valka leaned back into Cloudjumper more; soaking in his warmth as they sat on the sea-stack together. They looked off toward the nest. Not their nest but the other one; the one that attacked Berk. Everything had gone wrong, Valka thought, how could she go back now? She missed her nest with its colourful warmth, the dragons there, and the great Bewilderbeast. But she couldn't leave Stoick again. She had missed him so much. They hadn't always disagreed about dragons, Valka had been as adamant about the war as any other Berkian, until she had killed her first and last dragon. It had been a nadder with glistening green scales. Valka hadn't thought about it as she plunged her dagger between those scales and hit home in the creature's heart. It hadn't died quickly. The nadder had let out a mournful cry as it fell and there was a look of grief and fear in its eyes. Another nadder had heard the cry and come rushing, Valka had backed up away from the dragon in horror, watching the second nadder nuzzle and comfort the dying one. They felt. Valka had seen it, they felt fear and pain and love. She had turned against the war then. Sure that dragons could view Vikings in the same way they viewed each other if given the chance, that fighting and killing was not the way to end the war.

Drawing her knees closer Valka let a few tears fall for that act that she deeply regretted and Cloudjumper crooned at her.

"It's alright, Cloudjumper, I'm fine." She said. Stoick hadn't turned on her like the others. He listened to a point but he was stubborn. Oh he was stubborn. But he still loved her. Valka could see it in his eyes when he looked at her. And she still loved him. Then there was Hiccup. Oh the wee child was pulling at her heart. He didn't trust her to come back, Valka knew, and he was afraid his father wouldn't come back when he left. She had done that. She had broken his trust before his first birthday. Valka had to repair it.

This trip was supposed to be so simple, once Valka had figured out what it was for: sneak into the enemy nest and steal the unclaimed egg. That was the solution Cloudjumper had for the loss of Valka's baby: give her a new baby. While it wasn't quite so simple Valka appreciated the sentiment but now there was the issue of being back in Berk with her son and husband. And a dragon egg. That she had not told Stoick about. Valka stood with a sigh and wiped the dirt from her skirt.

"Well, Cloudjumper, that's enough thinking for one day. We'd best get back."

The dragon stood, shook himself, and waited for Valka to climb on his back before taking off and flying back to Berk. Winter was a brisk time to fly; at least it wasn't snowing today though. They made short time and Valka left her dragon to open the door to her home. She stood there shocked for a moment. The egg had hatched. Stoick stood holding Hiccup close as the baby reached for the dragon who was being pushed away by Stoick's foot.

"You are not going near that thing, Hiccup." Stoick said. He looked up to see Valka standing in the open doorway, "Did you know it was an egg?" He asked. Valka snapped out of it and shut the door before pulling her gloves off. The dragon didn't even take notice of her. It was small, a little smaller than Hiccup, black with darker black spots and stripes that reminded Valka of mountain lion cubs. Its large leathery wings were just dragging on the floor and its feet were too large for such a small thing.

"I thought I'd be here when it hatched." She said as she knelt to gather the dragon in her arms, "I meant to tell you." She pointedly did not look at Stoick; he was going to be mad and rightly so. This wasn't a small secret.

"Meant to tell me? Hiccup was right next to it!" He was yelling, definitely mad. Valka glanced up to see him shift Hiccup again before the baby wriggled out of his arms entirely. The boy had started crying at some point in all the confusion. "You are not goin' near that thing, Hiccup, so you can stop yer cryin'." Hiccup quieted for a moment, watching Stoick. Valka was having her own issues holding the dragon as it squirmed and complained. For some reason it was adamant about wanting to be near Stoick who of course wanted nothing to do with it.

"It's a baby, Stoick. Babies are not dangerous."

Hiccup was jabbering at Stoick and the dragon was squawking so Stoick had to talk over them, but the yelling had stopped. "It's going outside."

Valka looked him in the eye then, "Stoick, he's a baby." And it was winter, far too cold out there. He should know that and not need it pointed out.

"A baby? That thing has claws, it could hurt Hiccup." Stoick ignored Hiccup's hand on his mouth.

"Stoick-" Valka began.

"'Ic-up."

Both adults stopped and stared at Hiccup. The dragon finally got loose and pawed at Stoick's leg but was unnoticed.

"Did he just?" Valka said. Hiccup looked from one parent to the other. Valka came closer, the dragon forgotten. "Can you say it again, Hiccup?" Valka asked but Hiccup blinked at her and looked up at his father. "Say his name again, Stoick."

Hiccup patted Stoick's beard and was babbling a string of sounds when the dragon squawked loudly and pulled on Stoick's boot with his mouth. Valka laughed.

"He likes you." She bent to pick him up and Stoick held Hiccup away from it. "Oh Stoick, I'll hold his paws so he doesn't scratch."

"And it's teeth? It isn't going near Hiccup." The anger was gone. The combination of baby dragon and Hiccup saying a real word had worked their magic.

Hiccup had been watching the dragon but at the sound of his name he turned back to his dad, "'Ic-up?"

"That's right," Valka said as she leaned closer, forgetting the dragon in her arms, "That's your name, Hiccup."

He smiled, "'Iccup."

The dragon, meanwhile, was trying to get closer to Stoick and leaned out of Valka's arms close to Hiccup. They were face to face before Stoick could move. The two babies studied one another, the dragon sniffing and the Viking touching. The adults just watched as the dragon's little nose twitched at Hiccup's small hand.

"See Stoick? He's harmless."

Stoick grunted but let them be.

"Hiccup?" Valka said to get his attention, "Hiccup, can you say mama?" Hiccup paid no attention to her, though, and turned babbling to his father about the dragon. "Oh that child plays favourites." Valka said with a smile. It was her own fault Hiccup preferred his father and she would not begrudge Stoick the baby's trust. "Now, if you would only repeat simple words to him he might be saying more than his name."

"It's my fault he isn't saying mama?" Stoick said. He pushed the dragon back into Valka's arms as it tried to climb on him.

"Yes. Do you ever say mama to him? Or dada? How's he supposed to learn if he never hears it?"

Stoick had never thought about it like that. Would Hiccup be talking rather than babbling by now if Stoick slowed down? "Well, he has you for that. What is wrong with that blasted beast?" The dragon had finally succeeded in climbing on him and curled around his shoulders, wings still open; one of them flopped over Stoick's head. It chirped at him before leaning down to sniff Hiccup again.

"He likes you." Valka said, "So you get the favour of both babies."

"You can have the dragon."

"Poor thing must be hungry." Valka ignored Stoick's comment and got some fish from the cold box. The dragon hopped off Stoick, landed with a tumble, and stumbled over to Valka. He stood on his hind legs, but his wings were still unfolded which caused the dragon to topple backwards. Valka and Hiccup both laughed. Stoick smiled, he would never tire of Valka's laugh, or Hiccup's. The little dragon wasn't that bad.

"Here you are," Valka knelt and placed the fish on the floor. Rolling over the dragon nosed it before downing it all in one gulp. He licked his lips before trilling at Valka and nosing her for more. "That was almost as big as you and you want another?"

Stoick sighed, he already had one dragon living here, what was one more? He sat at the table with Hiccup, who was enthralled with the dragon. When the dragon finished his fish he ran over to Stoick, tripping on his wings, and rubbed against his leg before curling up for a nap at Stoick's feet.

Valka shook her head and took a bowl of mushed turnip out of the cold box and grabbed a small spoon, "Here, Stoick, you go back to your carving." She took Hiccup from him, settled the baby on her lap, and gave him some turnip. The dragon lifted its head and watched; frills forward and head tipped.

"He needs a name, Stoick." Valka said, nodding at the dragon. Stoick snorted. The dragon's curiosity won out and it got up to sat at Valka's feet, watching. Hiccup tried to grab the spoon or the bowl but Valka kept both from him. Once it saw that Hiccup only had to open his mouth for food the dragon decided he wanted to try it too. Sitting up, careful of its wings, the dragon opened its mouth.

"Look at you." She smiled at it, "You little piglet. You've had your meal." She scraped some mush off Hiccup's chin. "Hang on." She stopped feeding Hiccup with the spoon almost to his mouth. "Where are your teeth?"

Stoick didn't look up from his carving as he snorted, "Baby."

"I've seen baby dragons, Stoick. They have teeth. Why don't you?" Valka asked the dragon. Hiccup was grabbing at the air in front of the spoon whining.

"If you're going to get distracted I'll feed Hiccup." Stoick but wood and knife aside to take Hiccup and the bowl.

"It's odd though, Stoick. A toothless dragon." She knelt next to the dragon, "I wonder what he is."

"He's toothless." Stoick said while feeding Hiccup. This time the baby was able to hold on to the spoon and grab at the food, making a mess of it and himself. He would ignore the spoon his father held and feed himself from the bowl with his hands, always insistent on independence.

"Toothless." Valka smiled, "There you go, little one. You've got your name."

**A/N: So this is the last chapter of **_**Imprint**_ **until March 11 or 18. I was hoping to have all the rough drafts of **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** done by now so I could give you a definitive return date but I'm two chapters shy and I'm not sure yet if the last chapter will be one part or two. **_**Imprint**_** will definitely be back in March though.**

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews **** and yes the black rock was Toothless. There are so many cute stories in my head with these two, some my sister came up with and some are already written down. **

**As always special thanks to CB for the edit.**


	6. Rivalry

**Last time in **_**Imprint**_** (For those of you returning after the break): after over two months of absence, Valka returned to Berk with her dragon, Cloudjumper, and a rock. Stoick allowed the dragon to stay on the island with the condition that the creature causes no destruction in the village, join any raids, or have contact with Hiccup. The rock turned out to be an egg which Toothless hatched from, however no one, including Valka, knows what type of dragon he is. Hiccup has learned to crawl and said his first word. That's pretty much it. Mostly fluff, really, there will be more plot eventually, I promise, it's just so hard to keep to plot with adorable babies.**

That night Valka had put extra blankets on the floor for Toothless because Stoick had vehemently refused to let the hatchling sleep on the bed. Toothless for his part refused to sleep on the floor, even with the blankets. He padded round the bed and grabbed the blanket edge and scrambled up, tearing the blanket in the process. Stoick didn't say anything; he discretely pushed the dragon off the bed hoping Valka wouldn't notice. By this point, upset and a little bit mad, Toothless climbed up the bedpost at the bottom of the bed. Stoick by then was half asleep with his arm around Valka and couldn't care less about what the dragon was doing.

Toothless peeked into the crib where his nestmate was. Hiccup was sleeping deeply, his fists clenched next to his head; he was sucking his thumb slowly. Toothless decided to climb into the crib.

"Stoick," Valka whispered, "Stoick, quietly, come here."

Stoick pulled the blanket up; quiet meant Hiccup wasn't awake yet. Why in all of Midgard would Stoick get up before Hiccup was awake? The boy woke before dawn every day.

"Stoick!"

With a groan that Valka hushed Stoick rolled out of bed, his beard in disarray. He shuffled over to Valka next to the crib, rubbing gunk out of his eye. She pointed into the crib. Stoick sighed and looked in; he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing. Hiccup had his thumb in his mouth and clutched Toothless' ear in his other hand. Their foreheads were touching and Toothless had his arm over Hiccup, as well as his wings. His tail was curled up over them both.

"Isn't that the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

Stoick gave Valka an incredulous look. She did know they were Vikings right? Vikings didn't do adorable. At the sound of Valka's voice Hiccup stirred, scrunching up his little nose and making small sounds. Well to be fair, Hiccup was a baby; he didn't know he was a Viking and therefore had an excuse to be adorable. Stoick was not going to point that out, however. The dragon stirred and yawned with a squeak, pulling Hiccup closer. Well, it was a dragon and a baby so it didn't know any better either. The dragon's movement woke Hiccup up; he started sucking the thumb in his mouth and patted at the dragon who sniffed him and trilled. The baby smiled around his thumb before he noticed his parents. Stoick picked him up when he stretched out his arms.

"Come on; let's get you changed before you really wake up." He said, leaving the dragon for Valka to deal with. Changing Hiccup was definitely easier when he wasn't completely awake; then he would wiggle and try to escape; the kid seriously had something against sitting still. When he was sleepy, though, Hiccup laid quietly on the floor while he was changed; merely sucking his thumb and rubbing his eyes. Stoick was certain the only reason he didn't crawl away most mornings was because he wanted breakfast. Hiccup watched Stoick and stretched one arm out to indicate a desire to be picked up, smiling when he was.

Valka had taken the dragon outside to feed the hatchling and her dragon breakfast. The dragons had been introduced to each other the day before. Cloudjumper seemed to tolerate the small dragon, although the stormcutter seemed to prefer Hiccup out of the two babies. Stoick checked the back door to make sure it was closed and looked at Hiccup.

"Can you say dada?"

Hiccup blinked up at him and yawned.

"Come on, Hiccup, say dada before Mama comes back in." Stoick glanced at the door again. "Dada, Hiccup, da-da."

Hiccup laid his head down and rubbed his eyes, not interested at all in obeying the chief's request. Sighing, Stoick gave up and got a bowl of pre-mushed lingonberries from the cold box. He sat down with Hiccup to feed him. Hiccup was ignoring the spoon Stoick held for him and eating with his hands when Stoick heard Valka came back in with Toothless.

"How is it he wears more food than he eats when you feed him?" Valka asked.

Stoick looked down at Hiccup. There was food in his hair and all over his hands and face. Hiccup stared back with his fingers in his mouth.

"I don't know," Stoick said, "How do you keep him clean?" He ignored Toothless, whom Valka had placed on the floor and was now running around Stoick's chair. Hiccup dropped some lingonberries on the floor and watched Toothless sniff at them. Valka shook her head.

"I don't let him play with his food."

"I don't either." Stoick said defensively. Toothless yelped and Stoick looked down to see him wiping berry mush off his head. "On purpose." He added.

Valka rolled her eyes. "And this is why you aren't dressed before breakfast, Hiccup." She took him from his father, "Because Daddy feeds you and makes a mess." Stoick noticed that she spoke slowly and clearly, not how he usually talked to Hiccup. "You heading out today?" Valka asked him.

Stoick watched her wash their son, giving him a rag to keep him from grabbing the one she was using. "Have to make my rounds after the storm last night. I won't be gone all day."

Valka nodded to let Stoick know she heard him as she tickled Hiccup's sides. The baby squealed and his mother wrapped him in a blanket to dry him off.

"Can you say mama? Ma-ma." Valka smiled as Hiccup touched her mouth. "You going to try sweet thing? Mama." Hiccup stayed silent, refusing to even voice his usual babbling. "I give up, here Stoick. Don't put him on the floor yet, I'm going to get him some clean clothes."

Once she was in the other room Stoick whispered, "Dada. Say dada, Hiccup."

Hiccup patted Stoick's mouth and babbled consonant sounds. There were more ds than ms Stoick noted with a smile. "That's my boy. Dada."

Toothless decided at that moment he was done with being ignored. He put his front paws on Stoick's leg and chirped loudly. Stoick kicked him off, albeit gently.

"Stoick, he's a baby." Valka chastised from the doorway.

"What's his problem?"

"He wants attention too, Dada." Valka smirked.

Stoick paled, "Ah, you, uh. How long, how long have you been-"

"Oh, long enough. You go on out now, make your rounds, Dada." She took Hiccup and sat on the floor to dress him.

"Right. I'll just, right." Stoick mumbled as he grabbed his helmet, which had been at the centre of another awkward conversation, and opened the door. "Val?"

"Yes dear?"

"Don't leave Hiccup alone with that thing, Okay? For me." He added the last bit because he knew it would work, even if she disapproved.

"Fine. He isn't dangerous, Stoick, but for you, fine."

"Thanks." He headed out.

"Daddy worries over nothing doesn't he, Hiccup?" Valka said as she put socks on him, tickling his toes.

Toothless, though, was very distressed, pacing around the door trying to find a way out.

"Toothless!" Valka said, "Toothless, no! We don't scratch doors." Toothless kept at it, however, barking and rumbling as he dug at the wood. "Toothless, it's fine. He's coming back, it's fine." She gathered the frantic dragon in her arms and tried to rock him. Hiccup crawled over and patted Valka. When he got no response he too started whimpering.

"Oh, not you too." Valka scooped Hiccup onto her lap with Toothless. "Daddy'll be home later."

Toothless didn't want him home later. He wanted 'Daddy' home now.

"Why don't we play with the blocks Daddy carved?" She tried to orchestrate it so she held both babies but Toothless wriggled free and sat by the door. Hiccup was set up with his blocks but Toothless made mournful sounds every now and then. Not even fish lured him away from his post at the door.

About midmorning the door swung open and Toothless found himself flung into the wall as Gobber entered the house.

"Gobber! What have we told you about that door?"

Gobber immediately checked the floor, "Sorry Valka, the bug's not near the door though."

Valka poured milk into Hiccup's horn, "You didn't know that before you opened it. And you knocked Toothless into the wall." She wasn't too worried about the dragon as he was already up and sniffing at the door.

"Toothless?" Just as he said it Toothless darted under Gobber's legs and out the door.

"Uhh, Valka-"

"Now look at what you've done." Valka interrupted. She put the horn in Gobber's hand, "Watch Hiccup. He should take the horn no problem; he didn't eat all his breakfast." With that she was out the door before Gobber could say anything.

Toothless didn't look back; there were drifts of snow everywhere that Toothless had to hop through, but the little dragon was determined. He could smell Stoick and followed the trail. Toothless had never been outside the nest on his own and was finding the busy village frightening. However, the dragon's focus on Stoick's scent kept the hatchling moving. He had almost mastered folding his wings back so they weren't hindering him as much when he ran. Toothless dodged Vikings, often running right under their feet. He caused at least one of them to fall into a snowbank. Rounding a corner Toothless crashed into someone's boot. Sitting in the snow the dragon shook his head and looked up at Stoick and some others. Toothless barked once then rubbed against Stoick's legs, purring and rumbling.

"What's this then, Stoick?" Ack asked.

Stoick frowned down at the dragon. "Val's other dragon. Just found out about him. She promises there are no more."

"Just found out about him? She's managed to hide a dragon for two and a half months?" Spitelout asked. Only Valka would be able to pull something like that off.

"It was an egg. Hatched yesterday. She told me it was a rock." Stoick continued to the docks to ensure everything was still in order after the last storm. Toothless followed along at his heels, running to keep up.

"Hatched?" Spitelout said watching the little dragon. "Does it follow you everywhere?"

Stoick nodded.

"You there when he hatched?"

Stoick nodded again.

Spitelout smirked, "I do believe you got yourself a duckling. You're his mama." He dodged back, out of Stoick's fist range as he laughed. Ack and Bur smiled a bit but neither dared outright tease their chief, or laugh. Not about this.

A gust of wind from above caught their attention as the stormcutter landed in front of them. Toothless hid behind Stoick's legs, the large dragon seemed annoyed and Toothless would rather stay out of his way.

"What do you want?" Stoick asked, not entirely unkindly. Cloudjumper bent and sniffed at Toothless' level and the baby cowered behind Stoick.

"Toothless." Valka came round the corner having seen Cloudjumper land. "Stoick, have you seen Toothless? He got out."

"Forget the dragon, where's Hiccup?" Stoick said. The dragon could fend for itself if it ran away, baby or not. Hiccup was only crawling, most likely into the fire. Valka held up her hand.

"Relax Stoick, Gobber's with him. He's the one who let Toothless out."

Stoick snorted and nudged the dragon at his feet forward.

"You found him!" She picked him up and turned to go home, Gobber really shouldn't be left with Hiccup for very long. "What were you thinking you naughty thing." Toothless struggled in Valka's arms, trying to get down and back to Stoick. "Oh what is wrong?" Valka said as she tried to keep hold of him.

"He wants his mama. Ow!" Spitelout rubbed his head after Stoick cuffed him.

Valka looked at the struggling dragon in her arms. "Maybe. Dragons might imprint when they hatch. I've never seen them hatch before. It was only you and Hiccup when it happened," She said thoughtfully, "Did he look at you first?"

Stoick did not like where this conversation was going. He nodded slowly. Spitelout sniggered from a safe distance away.

"He could have imprinted on you." Valka smiled at the thought. Toothless finally got loose and padded up to Stoick with a chirp. Oh great, Stoick thought, he, Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, leader in the fight against dragons had a baby dragon imprinted on him.

"Get it back to the house." He said. Valka shook her head but gathered up the dragon, told Cloudjumper to go home and started back up the hill. Stoick shook his head, "Check the docks, Spite, and give me a report."

Spitelout looked surprised at Stoick leaving, but nodded as Stoick headed up the hill to his home.

**A/N: It's back! Like I said before, it is hard to stick to just the plot with the adorable babies. Quick question, do any of you want grossness warnings before scenes that include baby Hiccup and snot/nose picking/coughing (on people)/drool/any other things you might consider gross? My sister said she does and so did CB so if you guys do now is the time to speak up and say what you want warning for, because all the above will be coming as they are normal for toddlers and Hiccup will be entering that age soon. Plus, it's fun to gross people out **

**Do you mind if I rant about this book I'm reading? Slight spoilers for **_**The Nibelungenlied**_** ahead, but not really because the narrator tells you who is to blame ahead of time. Mostly I want to say how much I hate Prunhilt and Hagen. I do, so very much, I hope they die. Especially Hagen. Evil, traitorous, back stabbing people with no honour or decency. I dislike them a great deal. Okay, rant done. Short and sweet. I highly recommend this book if you like old stories though, it's really good. It's from around the year 1200, a medieval German heroic poem and has aspects that inspired things from **_**Lord of the Rings**_** (we know that Tolkien read it) and **_**Harry Potter**_** (there's a cloak of invisibility that's very important). I find it to be an easy read too, not filled with too many similes (like **_**The Illiad**_**, oh the similes in that one!). It was somewhat hard to find, I had to order it from Chapters because they don't keep it in stock in any store, but any big book chain should be able to order it, I have the Oxford World's Classics edition.**

**TashaRomnoffs: Yes, Stoick so is becoming that person. Just wait till chapter 9 **

**Kitty.0: Thank you, I'm trying to keep them in character. Yes they are going to be busy, especially when Hiccup starts walking. Busy baby and busy dragon who (sometimes) work together constantly getting into stuff. And are equally spoiled by Daddy who claims to not spoil them at all (as he gives in to what they want to stop the crying.)**

**As always, special thanks to CB for the edit.**


	7. Self Soothing

Stoick caught up to Valka and the dragons on the way up the hill. The baby dragon seemed happier with him there, at least, he stopped struggling to get down from Valka's arms.

"You left Gobber with Hiccup?" Stoick asked. Gobber was fine with Hiccup, so long as he was supervised. There had been an incident where he had just let the baby cry in his crib till Stoick came home because he didn't know what to do. He also avoided changing Hiccup's diaper which meant Stoick had to be careful about when and how long Gobber was alone with Hiccup so the poor babe didn't have to wear a dirty diaper for an extended period of time. Stoick had learned that the hard way. Although, Gobber did make a good point about the difficulty of changing an infant's diaper with only one hand.

"Oh relax, Stoick, it's only been a half an hour. I was just about to give Hiccup his milk so Gobber didn't have to prepare it, only give it to him. They're fine." Valka stroked the dragon in her arms. The little thing was the size of a cat, except for his long tail which hung down almost to Valka's knees. "It makes sense, you know, for them to imprint when hatched. It would ensure that they stay safe and with their own parents. Like ducklings. He might follow you around a lot. I didn't see older hatchlings doing that, but now that I think about it the younger ones did. Not in their individual nests, though, so he might not bother you too much in the house."

Stoick tuned her out as they approached their house and opened the front door. Valka put Toothless down inside. She seemed so excited at the possibility that dragons might imprint on their parents when young; the fact that Stoick was the last person on Midgard who would want to have a baby dragon thinking he was its mama didn't seem to cross her mind. Stoick was quite put out with the whole thing as they went inside, his eyebrows low over his eyes. Valka didn't even notice in her chipperness. Gobber was sitting on the floor with Hiccup, building with his blocks.

"Now Hiccup, if you made a base you could get it higher. No, lad. Surely you can get more than three blocks stacked, straighten them out like this. Oh, now you've knocked them over."

The baby didn't seem to mind as he laughed and started stacking them again, reaching for Gobber's tower.

"No, now you have yer own blocks, you leave mine alone." Gobber said pushing Hiccup's hand away.

"Are you playing with his toys?" Valka asked as Toothless bounded over and sniffed at the tower.

"Eh now," Gobber pushed the dragon back a bit, "He's got plenty, he can spare some." There was a crash as Hiccup succeeded in pulling a block out of Gobber's tower.

"Ah, now look what you've done." Gobber said to the wide eyed baby. Toothless nosed over, sniffing at Hiccup, snorting and shaking his head when Hiccup batted his nose. The dragon crinkled and uncrinkled his nose, snuffling.

"So what's this then?" Gobber asked, picking up Hiccup and standing; instinctively getting the baby away from the dragon.

"Toothless," Valka said. Hiccup saw Stoick at that point and his little hands opened and closed as he leaned out of Gobber's arms.

"Toothless?" Gobber handed Hiccup over to his father. Having Hiccup in his arms soothed Stoick's temper.

"Baby dragon. Hatched yesterday." Stoick grumbled. He pulled his beard out of Hiccup's hand and held the tiny fingers.

"Huh," Gobber scratched his chin as Hiccup babbled to Stoick, "That reminds me, yer lad spoke! Said his name." Gobber grinned.

Stoick noticed Hiccup yawning and wet a rag for him to use as a pacifier as Valka sat with the dragon.

"He said that yesterday." Valka said petting Toothless as the little dragon fell asleep with his head in her lap.

"Did he say Gobber?" Gobber asked with a grin.

"What?" Both parents asked, startling both babies out of sleepiness.

"He did, clear as day, 'Gobber.'"

He looked far too pleased with himself Stoick thought as he swayed Hiccup to settle him again.

"He said your name? He barely sees you." Valka seemed annoyed, but Stoick could tell she was not as mad as she sounded though, if the little twitch at the corner of her mouth was anything to go by. "Oh, the little bug's already messing with us." She said to Stoick.

"That is, if he really said it." Stoick winked at his wife, "It is only Gobber's word for it, after all."

Gobber placed his hand over his heart and stepped back as if wounded, "Are ye tellin me ya don't believe me?"

"You do have a history of pulling our legs." Valka laughed.

"Ya hearin this, Hiccup? Yer parents are gainin up on me."

Hiccup watched Gobber without lifting his head from his father's shoulder. He mumbled a bit but didn't take the rag out of his mouth.

"He's not goin ta help ya out." Stoick said as Hiccup gave a big sigh, "He's about ready to go down for a nap."

"About ready nothing." Valka said, "He is ready and should be put down."

"Ya do know the lad was rarely put down while you were away," Gobber put in, sitting on the floor to rebuild his tower, "He took his naps out and about whenever he fell asleep."

Valka rolled her eyes, "I am aware of that and it isn't good. He's a baby, Stoick, he needs routine and can go to sleep on his own. So go put him down."

"It isn't any bother holding him," Stoick tried but Valka fixed him with a stare that made him fidget, "He goes to sleep faster if I hold him, Val, if I put him to bed now he'll cry."

Valka was unmoving, "Stoick you put that child to bed. If he cries he cries. It'll do him no harm. He wouldn't cry at all if you would let him be."

"He doesn't like being alone," Stoick tried again.

"If you're not home he goes down nice and quiet."

Stoick had no answer to that. Slowly he shuffled to the bedroom, taking his time. Once next to the crib he hesitated. When Valka was gone he had rarely had Hiccup out of his sight. The baby was only in his crib at night. Hiccup was a warm, quiet weight in Stoick's arms. A comforting weight. Stoick could feel each puff of air against his neck as Hiccup breathed in and out slowly.

"Stoick, he should be down by now." Valka called.

Stoick sighed. He really couldn't see a problem with Hiccup taking his naps out with them. Carefully, Stoick put his baby down and took his beard out of the tiny hand. Hiccup blinked up at him sleepily and arched his back, reaching for his father with a whine. Well, Stoick was not going to just walk away. He placed his hand on Hiccup's belly, rubbing circles on his little chest with a thumb. Hiccup settled again with a sigh and his eyes drifted closed. Technically Stoick was doing what Valka wanted; Hiccup was in his crib for a nap. Stoick waited till Hiccup was asleep, thumb in mouth and rag forgotten, before going back to the main room.

Valka stood waiting for him; arms crossed and tapping her foot, "What took so long?"

Stoick shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, somehow feeling like a naughty child. "Nothing. I put him down and he's asleep."

"I said to put him down for a nap, not rock him to sleep. He needs to learn to do that for himself."

Gobber snorted from where he still sat playing with Hiccup's blocks, "Tyke's not goin to learn that with Stoick around. Spoiled that lad is."

"It's better to ease him into it," Stoick ignored his friend. He did raise an eyebrow at the dragon curled up in the fire.

"We can't do this for him, Stoick. I know it seems mean, but he can do it. He won't hate you for this." Valka placed her hand on Stoick's cheek and smiled at him, "So for his afternoon nap you will put him down and if he cries let him cry. He will settle himself and learn to sleep through the night."

Stoick rolled his eyes. Hiccup only woke up once or twice a night. It wasn't that bad.

"When was he supposed to learn that particular skill?" Gobber asked from the floor, still stacking up the blocks.

"Oh, about two to three months ago." Valka said as she tidied the room.

Stoick rolled his eyes again, "The other women said it varied. Hiccup's always been a bit behind," In some things at least. "And some babies don't learn that till they're two or three."

"Stoick Haddock that child is more than capable he just won't bother because he knows you'll give in. Like I said, if you aren't home he doesn't cry. Hasn't since I got back. He already learned to soothe himself just as he has learned that you will hold him if he cries. He's smarter than you realize."

Well, that was a bit disconcerting if it were true. Hiccup was a baby, he shouldn't know how to manipulate anyone. Plus, Stoick was his father; he was supposed to be in control. Stoick sat in his chair. There was a pawing at his leg and a chirp. The baby dragon had left the fire and seemed to want up on Stoick's lap.

"No. Go lay down elsewhere."

"Stoick, don't be so mean." Valka chastised.

"If Hiccup can sleep on his own so can the dragon." Stoick nudged it away with his foot.

Gobber kept working on his block tower, which was as high as the table and a sound structure. "You've upset him, Val." He gestured to Stoick with a block, "How many blocks does this kid need, anyway?"

Stoick stopped his glowering to look at the blocks. There were an awful lot. Maybe he should carve something else next. Or make a chest for them all. Valka scooped up Toothless as she took her seat, and cuddled him.

"Oh, he'll get over it." She said. Stoick rolled his eyes and resisted the temptation to check on Hiccup. Maybe the boy was a little spoiled.

* * *

**A/N: I like taking Stoick out of his comfort zone. The part I'm writing in **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** does it too. He's fun to mess with. Pretty soon it's Gobber I'm taking out of his comfort zone, though, so Stoick gets a break. If anyone has any ideas feel free to mention them. I try to write all the chapters of the part that is being posted, and part 2 of **_**Imprint**_** is all written and typed, but I can add stuff if it works or incorporate it into later parts. I'm also considering making a oneshot story post for **_**Imprint**_** to dump extra stories that don't fit in the overall flow, so they could end up there.**

**Hopelessromatic4life: No, no it is not. **** Toothless is an easier baby than Hiccup, until the terrible twos that is. We won't get there till part 3 or 4, but I have some ideas already.**

**KaliAnn: Thank you, the crib scene is adorable and I'm trying to convince my sister to sketch it because cuteness. Toothless does follow Hiccup a bit, he views Hiccup as his nestmate. Toothless instinctively keeps Stoick in sight though, like a little duckling. That is always underfoot. He gets kicked a lot, like when my cat runs right in the path of my foot, it isn't intentional, he's just in the way. Umm happy mother/son moment will come, eventually. Plot reasons mean it won't come in part 2, though they are possible in part 3. **

**Kas3y: I've decided to put a warning at the beginning of the chapters if there is anything because my sister refuses to read it if I don't. I don't think they're necessary either, but I would like her to read this because she's an illustrator and I might get pictures.**

**Pippalina: That would be cute and meaningful. I've had how Toothless first learns to fly planned for a while though; it's still together just not like that. Toothless is smaller than Hiccup for several years. Hiccup can't fly on him till he's at least 11, maybe older due to size, and Toothless learns to fly when he's still a baby. I love getting ideas though, and try to incorporate them if possible.**


	8. Trips

For the rest of the winter they fell into a comfortable routine. It soon seemed natural to have a dragon in the house. By mid spring Hiccup was toddling about causing all sorts of chaos with Toothless. The Viking baby was speaking too, not quite sentences but well enough to be understood. A new area of concern in the house was the stairs. The steep unprotected stairs. Hiccup's newest fascination. The boy was always heading for the stairs whenever Stoick or Valka turned their back. Well, the stairs or the fireplace, they could never take their eyes off him without the baby heading for one or the other. Odin only knew what the kid would get into outside the house. The April rains were ending, the snow all gone and both babies would be wanting to go outside soon.

Stoick was still adamantly against Cloudjumper being near Hiccup; no matter what Valka said or how well behaved Cloudjumper was. Toothless was the only dragon Stoick would stand to have around Hiccup and that was only because the silly dragon wouldn't stop following Stoick.

"Toofess! No! Mama!"

Valka sighed and looked up from preparing the midday meal. Toothless was crouched, tail wagging, with one of Hiccup's toys in his mouth.

"Mama, mine." Hiccup said pulling on her skirt. Hiccup was good about sharing most of the time so it was highly likely that he had been playing with whatever Toothless had, the hatchling had probably taken it right out of Hiccup's hands.

"Toothless," Valka gave the hatchling a stern look. The little dragon only gave a gummy grin around the toy and crouched further. "Toothless, leave it." Valka said to no avail; Toothless merely bounced about the room, toy in mouth.

"Leaf, Toofess!" Hiccup said with his little fists on his hips.

"Hiccup, you're not helping." Valka told him as Toothless bounced in front of Hiccup and then away before the toddler could grab him. Thankfully the door opened and Stoick came in. Toothless dropped the toy and ran to Stoick, as usual. Hiccup forgot about the toy too,

"Dada!" Hiccup ran to his feet and reached up for Stoick.

"What's my little dragon hunter up to?" Stoick scooped Hiccup up.

Valka frowned, "Stoick,"

"I know, but he's a Viking, Val. He's going to have to slay dragons. Right little one?" Stoick bounced Hiccup and the boy giggled.

"Stoick, he could do other things."

Stoick looked up, "He's a Viking, and heir to the tribe. He'll learn to protect his own."

Valka sighed. This issue was becoming a regular fight and she couldn't see it ending anytime soon. She went back to preparing the meal, "Will you be here this afternoon? I wanted to take Cloudjumper for a flight."

Stoick sat with Hiccup, trying to ignore the fact that Toothless had managed to climb up onto his lap too. "It's spring, Val," He said pushing Toothless' face out of his, "There are raids to prepare for, the herds to bring down, and the planting to start." Toothless had started batting at Hiccup who retaliated, "Knock it off, you two," Stoick grabbed Toothless by the scruff and put him on the floor.

"And what would you have done if I hadn't come home?" Valka put a bowl of fish stew in front of Stoick and a plate of cut up fish and stewed vegetables for Hiccup.

"No, Hiccup, that's yours," Stoick said moving his bowl out of the baby's reach and pushing the plate closer to Hiccup. "All the bones are removed?"

Valka gave him a look, "Of course they are."

"Jus' checking. Easy to forget, that's all."

"And what makes you say that?" Valka sat with her own bowl after giving Toothless a couple of fish.

"Nothing, jus' figured it would be." Stoick wouldn't meet her eyes, focussing instead on his lunch.

"Of course." Valka said. She noticed Hiccup mushing up his food and spreading it round the plate, "Hiccup, don't play with your food, Stoick don't let him do that."

When he heard his name Hiccup looked up from his plate where the turnip had been warring with the fish and it all was a mashed up mess.

"Honestly, how did you make it two and a half months without me? You can't even feed him without a huge mess." Valka wet a rag to clean Hiccup's hands off, "Use a spoon, Hiccup."

"I've got it," Stoick said taking the rag, "We managed. I'd probably take him out with me." He said to answer her earlier question.

Valka shook her head.

"What do you plan to do with yer dragon when the raids start up?" Stoick asked. He gave up on making Hiccup use the spoon and started eating his own meal while Hiccup used his hands.

"I don't need to do anything with him." Valka looked up from her bowl, "Stoick, he's getting it in his hair."

Stoick took Hiccup's hands out of the boy's hair and picked the larger pieces of food out. The boy had turnip mashed over his face and a small piece of fish on his nose which Stoick flicked off. "I can't promise the dragon's safety if he gets involved. Hiccup, no, don't feed Toothless. He eats enough already." Stoick moved Hiccup's plate out of the baby's reach, ignoring Hiccup's protest.

"He won't. I've been meaning to talk to you about him, actually." This was supposed to be a serious conversation, but having a serious conversation with Hiccup around was difficult. Especially since Hiccup had picked up his spoon with his clumsy grasp and was trying to eat Stoick's stew with it. Toothless was at Stoick's feet eating what Hiccup dropped.

Stoick moved Hiccup closer to the table, "I don't want Hiccup near it, Val."

Valka rolled her eyes, not missing the fact that Cloudjumper always became an 'it' when Hiccup was involved in the conversation, "Cloudjumper would never hurt Hiccup. Besides, Hiccup wants to go see him. I know, I don't let him," She said when she saw the alarm on Stoick's face, "But it's going to happen. Hiccup's very wilful and almost impossible to control at times. You know that."

Stoick huffed, which was the same as agreeing with her. He took the spoon from Hiccup, as the baby was now trying to feed Stoick, inevitably getting stew in his beard.

"Anyway," Valka continued, "That wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about." She took a deep breath; this wasn't going to be easy, it was best to just get it over with. "The weather's cleared, as you pointed out, and I want to take Cloudjumper back to the nest, not long," She said, seeing that Stoick was beginning to protest, "We'll only be gone for a week or so. Cloudjumper misses his own kind." Valka paused briefly, pushing her stew around with her spoon. "As do I."

Stoick stayed silent. He put Hiccup on the floor, where Toothless licked the food off the boy's hands, face, and hair all to Hiccup's giggles.

"The nest." He finally said.

"Yes. Not the one that attacks Berk. I am going, Stoick, I just wanted to talk to you about it first." Valka watched Hiccup toddle back to his toys with Toothless instead of looking at Stoick.

"Yer goin'?"

"Yes." Valka stated. This part wasn't up for discussion. She kept watching Hiccup as he passed Toothless toys. The little dragon took each toy and hid it under his body. "But, I wanted you to know."

Stoick sighed, "I thought you were stayin." Hiccup finished passing Toothless his toys and came running back to his father, Toothless following. He jumped against Stoick's knee; his little hands stretched up until Stoick pulled him onto his lap.

"I am." Valka sighed, "I told you, it's only for a week or two. I've had a taste of freedom, exploration. Besides," Valka reached down to scratch Toothless' chin, "I don't want to be here for the killing. The weather's warming up, the raids will start soon. I don't want to be here."

"Mi." Hiccup said, "Dada, mi."

Stoick got up with Hiccup in his arms to get the boy some milk, "Fine. You, you will… be back?" It was always strange to hear the big, brave Chief sound so insecure.

"Hiccup do." Hiccup tried to take the mug from Stoick but he held the bottom steady, preventing Hiccup from spilling it on himself.

"I told you I will be." Valka sat cuddling Toothless who had climbed in her lap.

"Toofess mi?"

"No, Hiccup, Toothless doesn't need any milk." Stoick said. He looked at Valka, "Will you take that one with you?"

"Dada mi?" Hiccup held the mug out to Stoick, almost spilling it in his father's beard.  
"No Hiccup." Stoick took the mug from him and put it on the table.

"Mama mi?"

"No Sweet Thing, Mama doesn't want any milk." Valka smiled, still scratching Toothless, "I don't think so. He's imprinted on you."

Stoick grunted, but Valka smiled. She knew that the baby dragon had grown on Stoick. Even if he did grumble about little bodies getting underfoot and the seeming bottomless stomach of the black dragon.

"When will you go?" Stoick put Hiccup down again and Toothless left Valka to follow the baby.

"Soon. I think. I don't know yet." Valka got up to hold Stoick's hand and cup his cheek, "But I won't leave without saying goodbye. I promise."

Stoick smiled down at her and Valka knew he was content with that.

"Toofess!"

Valka and Stoick both sighed, "Yer gonna leave me here with both of them? That's jus' cruel." Stoick said.

Valka's eyes danced as she smiled, "A big burly Viking like you beaten by two babes? I thought you said you'd manage?"

"Manage Hiccup. Not Hiccup and a dragon."

* * *

It was early morning, with stars still in the sky and a chill in the air when Valka left. The little family was all outside to say goodbye. Stoick even let Hiccup near Cloudjumper for the parting as Valka was unwilling to let go of her baby until the last minute. Hiccup was not quite awake and stayed quiet in his mother's arms, sucking his thumb. Toothless, though, knew something was up and ran around the group getting under everyone's feet and on everyone's tired nerves.

"Ya got everythin?" Stoick asked for the third time, checking her pack and making sure it was secure. Again.

"Yes Stoick."

"And ya know the way? There and back?"

Valka rolled her eyes, "_Yes_ Stoick. I'll be back in a few weeks."

"A few? What happened to one?"

Valka laughed and kissed him as she handed Hiccup over, "I'll be back, Stoick. Don't forget he still needs two naps: one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but try to get him down to one nap just after midday. And put him to bed for his naps. Also, Toothless gets at least two fish for every meal and needs snacks as often as Hiccup, so don't neglect him. And put them to bed about an hour after supper. And make sure you give Hiccup a proper bath at least once a day. And-"

"I got it Val. We got by without you before and it's only a couple of weeks."

Valka smiled ruefully, "I know, you'll be fine. Bye-bye Hiccup." She gave him a kiss and waved bye, smiling as Hiccup waved back. He pointed down at Toothless.

"Of course," Valka smiled, "C'mere Toothless." The dragon sat where he was and tipped his head, "C'mon Toothless, come say goodbye." When Valka held her arms out Toothless came running onto her lap and licked her face.

"Okay, okay," Valka laughed, "Enough you little terror." She stood and squeezed Stoick's hand again before climbing on Cloudjumper, "I'll see you soon."

Stoick only nodded. With that they were gone; off to the sky. Hiccup took his thumb out of his mouth to point after them,

"Mama!"

"Yes Hiccup, that's Mama." Stoick didn't take his eyes off her and so missed Hiccup scrunching up his face,  
"Mama!" He cried reaching up to Cloudjumper's disappearing form. Then the wailing started full force.

"Shhh, Hiccup, no, Mama will be back, it's alright." Stoick tried bouncing Hiccup to calm him.

Toothless had been watching Valka and Cloudjumper fly away, but when Hiccup started crying Toothless had looked from Hiccup to Cloudjumper then opened his mouth and began howling.

"Not you too," Stoick said as he bounced his baby, "What are you crying for?"

Toothless stopped for a moment and licked his lips, staring up at Stoick. Hiccup kept crying, his arms outstretched, hands opening and closing so Toothless started up again.

"Oh for the love of- Get inside," Stoick said, pushing Toothless toward the house with his foot, "Now, before you wake up the entire village." Stoick opened the door and used the side of his foot to kick Toothless inside. The little dragon tumbled in and Stoick followed, shutting the door. Hiccup was still crying for his mother.

"Hush now, it's alright, Hiccup. We don't need Mama; we're fine for a few weeks without her." Stoick walked to the cold box, accidentally kicking Toothless as the dragon ran around at his feet,

"Will you stop doing that?" Stoick said opening the cold box to grab Hiccup's breakfast. When he closed the cold box he felt the dragon insistently scratching at his leg with both paws.

"Right," Stoick put the bowl down and opened the box again to grab a couple of fish for Toothless. Hiccup was whimpering, but at least the crying had stopped. Stoick sat with Hiccup.

"How 'bout breakfast?" He spooned some of the mush and brought it to Hiccup's mouth, but the baby turned his head. "Come on, Hiccup, I know yer hungry." Hiccup still refused to eat.

"Mama."

"Mama's gone, Hiccup. She'll be back though. For now you need to be a good boy and open up. Come on, ahhh." Stoick said opening his own mouth to try and prompt Hiccup to do so. Magically, it seemed to work and Hiccup opened his mouth for the spoon.

"That's my boy." Stoick smiled as he got another spoonful, "See? We're fine without Mama." There was a rumbling sound and Stoick looked down to see Toothless with his front paws on Stoick's leg. "No, Toothless, you've had your breakfast."

The dragon's ears went down and it crooned sadly.

"No." Stoick went back to feeding Hiccup only to find that the boy had pulled the bowl closer and taken two handfuls. One went in his mouth and the other was dropped on the floor for Toothless. Stoick sighed: it was going to be a long few weeks.

"Dada, Hiccup mi."

Stoick sighed again, a very long few weeks.

* * *

**A/N: There may be a change to the posting schedule. It won't affect **_**Imprint**_**, but it will affect **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares,**_ **if you read that fic. I didn't pay attention to the dates and scheduled May 27 for an update. However, I will be out of town, maybe at a cabin in the mountains without internet on that day or maybe in a place with internet. If that's the case then I won't post on the 27****th**** of May, instead, it'll move it to June 3****rd****. There is a possibility that the chapter will be done (edited and ready to publish) before the 27****th**** and I might post it early if that's the case. However, my family is going out of town because it is the one year mark of my dad's passing on the 28****th**** and I might not feel like editing or I might go writing crazy so I don't have to think about it. I'll keep the schedule updated and let you know closer to the date. It all depends on what frame of mind I'm in.**

**Hopelessromantic4life: I agree, he does have every right to be coddled. Stoick, though, still sees dragons as evil and the enemy. He isn't likely to baby one. At least not right away and not openly.**

**KaliAnn: No, a super father figure would have his child sleeping through the night by now. I love analysing stories and so have done it with HTTYD, especially for writing these fics. The way I see it, in the movie, part of the problem is that Stoick is overprotective and doesn't see Hiccup as old enough, or responsible enough, to take care of himself. Hiccup is 15 in the first movie, yet Stoick says that whoever stays behind can look after Hiccup. He's 15 he can stay home by himself for a few days without a babysitter, but Stoick doesn't see it that way. Plus Stoick's discussion with Gobber following that meeting also tells us that he's overprotective and still sees Hiccup as a little kid. The poor boy is expected to be a big brave Viking, but his father does everything for him rather than let Hiccup try and fail (To be fair failing could mean serious injury or death). I'm trying to translate that into how Stoick would be when Hiccup was a baby. And yes, they should be trying to teach Toothless things. That will come up eventually, for now he's a very good little dragon even if he is underfoot so they aren't thinking about training him. That will come back to bite them big time later.**

**Thearizona: Thank you. The amount of chapters per part varies. I try and have an overarching problem that needs solving, the first part was the rock/egg, this one it's accepting Toothless. I post a schedule on my profile and post every Wednesday night. I believe this part goes to chapter 11/12 (11 on my schedule, as I don't count the prologue, and 12 according to the site, as it does count the prologue.)**

**Pippalina: Thank you **** I also write **_**Pirates,**_** which is more like a collection of stories and so has no schedule, and I wrote **_**Not His Type**_**, a one shot where Hiccup is five. **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** and **_**Imprint**_** are my main stories though, and alternate on the schedule.**

**MercurialDestiny: It's a phrase to describe two year olds who have discovered the word "no". It usually starts before they're two. It's really when babies learn that they are independent from their parents and therefore have their own will, which they like asserting. Hiccup gets to that stage in the next chapter or two; Toothless won't get there for a little longer.**

**Z: Thank you :)**

**As always special thanks to CB for the edit.**


	9. First Raid

Managing the village, Hiccup, and a baby dragon hadn't been so bad thus far. Aside from his curiosity, Hiccup was an easy baby to manage. So was the dragon, other than the beast's tendency to try to eat anything that appealed to him, regardless of whether the item was edible or not, and choosing to chew everything else. Toothless and Hiccup got along, unlike the Thorston twins. The two babies amused each other when they weren't fighting. Small fights: a stolen toy here, a pulled tail there, and shoving matches. Overall not terrible behaviour, especially when Stoick heard about what other children Hiccup's age were up to. He could deal with a child who refused to sit still; at least Hiccup wasn't afraid of the dark or baths and the lad usually stayed within viewpoint of the Chief.

The presence of the dragon didn't prevent Stoick from maintaining his chiefly duties either: the herds were being moved on time, crops successfully planted, and village defenses restocked and ready for the first dragon raid. Stoick was proving he was rather good not just as a chief and a parent but also as a pet owner, of a dragon no less. The whole village found his little pet amusing, the dragon was no bigger than a cat and had no teeth and he wasn't seen as threatening. Especially because there hadn't been a dragon raid since last fall. Stoick wasn't sure what they would think of Toothless after the raids started up again. He was walking home after an evening meeting, Toothless on his heels and Hiccup sleeping in his arms, when the call of "Dragons!" came.

Stoick cursed, the threat of rain had been hanging in the air all day and the dragons were already in Berk before they could be seen using the cover of the clouds. A nadder swooped out of the clouds above and dove at some sheep. What did one do with one's baby when caught outside during a raid? Stoick knew the answer to this, but for some reason a panic had taken over as he held Hiccup protectively to his chest and he couldn't think clearly. People started streaming from their houses; it was early enough that they hadn't gone to bed yet. Hiccup woke up with all the shouting and tightened one fist in Stoick's cloak, thumb in mouth as he stared at the commotion.

"Stoick!" Ack called, "Stoick yer needed at the forge!"

Why would Stoick be needed there? Gobber was more than capable of handling the forge. Hiccup took his thumb out of his mouth to point at the sky. Stoick looked up in time to see and dodge the gronkle. Definitely not a safe place for a baby. Hiccup didn't seem afraid, but the real fighting hadn't started yet and Stoick couldn't fight while holding a 15-month-old.

Stoick rushed to the forge, Toothless on his heels. He still didn't know what to do with Hiccup. Why hadn't he gone over this during all the other preparations? Before, he had left Hiccup in his crib, he was small enough to be swaddled and left there. The boy was older now, unable to be left alone safely. The forge should be relatively safe. Not a place to leave a baby though.

Stoick approached the stall to find it in flames. Oh. This was why he was needed. Hiccup pointed at the burning forge,

"No." Hiccup said before putting his thumb back in his mouth. He never lifted his head off Stoick's shoulder. Stoick glanced down at him. At least the kid had 'fire' and 'no' drilled into his head. There was a patting at his leg and Stoick looked back at Toothless. He had forgotten about the dragon. The hatchling looked terrified, watching the sky with big eyes and pressing into Stoick's leg. Shaking his head in bewilderment Stoick returned his focus to the forge.

"Stoick, bit of an issue here," Gobber said hobbling up. His eyebrows went up when he noticed Hiccup, "Umm, Stoick, the bug shouldn't be out here."

"Had him with me. What happened?"

"Engh, lucky shot." Gobber shrugged a shoulder, "Can be put out, thing is it was the forge part most ablaze. Out 'a commission for this one I'm afraid."

Great, Stoick thought.

Hiccup took his thumb out of his mouth again, "Dada, bankie."

"Not yet, Hiccup. Can we get the weapons?" Stoick asked Gobber. If they could it wouldn't be that bad,

"Probably." Gobber said scratching his chin, "After the fire's out."

Hiccup patted Stoick's cheek, "Dada, bankie."

"Why don' I take the bug ta the Great Hall for ya?" Gobber offered. The Great Hall, of course, that's where Hiccup would be safe during a raid.

"Good," Stoick said gratefully, "Hiccup, go with Gobber now, okay? I'll come get you later."

Hiccup just blinked at him.

"C'mon, Bug, let's go up ta the Great Hall and out of this commotion," Gobber held his arms out for Hiccup.

"Baba?"

"That's right, Hiccup, go with Gobber." Stoick said passing Hiccup over to his friend.

"No!" Hiccup tried to cling to Stoick but his little hands were easily pried off.

"It's alright, Hiccup. Go with Gobber."

"No!" Hiccup drew the word out starting to cry as he reached for Stoick. A zippleback's blast quickly lit a nearby house on fire, the explosion drowning Hiccup out.

"Jus' take him, Gobber. He'll calm down." Stoick said as he hurried off to help. Toothless hesitated then followed Stoick, looking back at Hiccup who was still crying for his father.

"Now, now, Hiccup," Gobber said as he started off to the Great Hall, "Viking's don't cry. It's jus' a little dragon raid." Hiccup paid no attention though, and Gobber was more than happy to leave him with Thistleface. Dragon raids he could handle; crying, screaming toddlers were too much.

* * *

It was a short raid with few dragons attacking. This was mostly a warm up for both sides. Stoick got the reports and ordered the most important repairs. Done with that he went on his way up to the Great Hall to collect his son. Toothless was insisting on being carried; he had climbed up Stoick's cloak and wrapped around his shoulders at some point near the end of the raid. Stoick had been too busy to care and let the dragon be. Stoick allowed it because the poor creature was still shaking and watching the sky. Maybe the dragon should be left with Hiccup during raids; he'd certainly not be underfoot that way.

Stoick opened the door and was welcomed with the sound of crying infants. Hiccup was one of the criers; he could easily recognize his son's voice as Toothless covered his head with his paws. Stoick followed the crying to the back of the hall. A group of mothers were there with young children and babies.

"Oh thank Odin!" Thistleface said when she saw Stoick. She scooped Hiccup off the ground, "Take him, he hasn't stopped crying." She shoved the baby into Stoick's arms. Hiccup opened his tear washed eyes and looked up at his father while Toothless leaned down to sniff him. Toothless licked Hiccup's face bringing out a little giggle. Thistleface handed Stoick a rag to wipe the spit off and the baby snuggled in.

"He cried the whole time?" Stoick asked as he swayed his son. Hiccup was quiet now, sleepy almost.

"Worse than the others. Including the newborn."

That wasn't good. Being afraid of dragons was not something one wanted in an heir. But, said heir was only 15 months old. The crying was odd, though, as Hiccup hadn't seemed afraid before. Stoick looked down at his son; the boy was sucking his thumb, half asleep.

"It wasn' the raid." Stoick said. Thistleface shook her head doubtfully but Stoick ignored her and went home. It was past midnight; Hiccup was going to be cranky tomorrow. Now he was sleeping soundly despite all the noise of repairs. Stoick could probably get more done before going home so long as Hiccup kept sleeping. Should he risk it? He was Chief, he should be there to help, but he was also a father. How was he supposed to balance the two out? Why was Valka away when Hiccup needed her?

Hiccup murmured in his sleep, turning his head. Bed, definitely bed. Stoick could put him down then he would go help. Leave the dragon home too. A good plan except Toothless refused to stay and started howling when Stoick closed the door. Quickly responding he opened the door to let the dragon out before the creature woke Hiccup up. Why did Valka leave him with both babies? Hiccup was safely tucked in bed though, and with any luck he wouldn't wake up while Stoick was gone.

The cradle had been done away with when Hiccup learned how to walk. Once Hiccup demonstrated his ability to climb out of it and fall to the floor, Stoick and Valka had decided he'd outgrown it. They moved him to the bed with them. Hiccup wouldn't get his own bed until he was big enough to get in and out of a bed by himself. Hiccup moving to the bed meant that Toothless had moved himself to the bed too. It was getting kind of full in Stoick's opinion. Well, it had been. One week down. He had one week down and they were all doing well.

A squawk broke Stoick out of his thoughts,

"Odin's ghost!" Spitelout cursed, "Does that thing _always_ need to be underfoot?"

Toothless had scrambled to the other side of Stoick, tail curled round his legs. Stoick shook his head, "It would seem so."

"Why is it-"

"He."

Spitelout gave Stoick a questioning look, "Alright, why is _he_ even here?"

"Wouldn't stay home quietly, the raid freaked 'im out. Why is ol' Grizzlehair's house being worked on? He can stay with his son till tomorrow," Stoick kept walking through the village to oversee, trusting his brother to follow. He knew Toothless would.

"Gonna rain. He asked that the hole in his roof get patched at least. Did ya leave Hiccup at home?"

"He's sleeping, put 'im to bed."

"But the dragon's with you."

Stoick stopped and turned to Spitelout, "He would have woken Hiccup up. The dragon's freaked, Hiccup's fine."

"Thistleface said he cried through the whole raid."

"Wasn't about the raid; he fell asleep before we left the Great Hall. He has separation issues, according to Valka." Stoick surveyed the village. Hiccup was most likely still asleep. He wouldn't have woken up. Stoick had put him in the middle of the bed so there was little chance of him falling off of it. "Everything seems good out here."

Spitelout laughed and gave him a knowing look, "Yeah, we got it. You go home so yer babe's not alone."

Stoick nodded, "C'mon Tooth." He turned back to the house, the little dragon running to stay as close as possible, checking the sky.

Hiccup was still fast asleep when Stoick got home; curled on his side, thumb in mouth. Stoick was going to need to do something about the thumb-sucking; Hiccup's skin was getting dry on his thumbs. Gently Stoick pulled the boy's thumb out of his mouth and brushed his hair back with a smile. As good as it felt to see his village doing well and safe after a raid it was far more satisfying to see his son safe and well. It was still a feeling that Stoick was getting used to; having someone in his life that was more important than anything else had ever even seemed. He was quite certain he would never get used to the feeling and he was really quite okay with that.

The dragon climbed onto the bed and nosed his way under the blankets, nuzzling up to Hiccup. Stoick shook his head as he removed his cloak and boots. Sometimes he wondered if Toothless even knew he was a dragon. Careful not to wake Hiccup, Stoick got into bed. He pulled the blanket up, placed his arm over both baby and dragon, and closed his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: For anyone reading **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** I just finished writing part 3 and there's a part were I get mean. The character in question deserved it because they were not cooperating with me, unfortunately another character also suffered as a consequence. I feel kinda bad for what I did and my sister says I'm a horrible human being… Anyway, hope you liked this chapter **

**Thearizona: Thank you! Whenever I'm writing these chapters my google adds are for diapers and pregnancy tests so I'm happy that that is appreciated because I really don't care about playskool's latest toys. I'm getting into chapters were I'm using stories from my childhood as well as my siblings, kids I babysat, my baby cousin, etc. I welcome suggestions, including stories involving the other kids. We won't see much of anyone except Snotlout for a little while though, as babies tend to be kept close to home. They also don't really play with each other till they're between two and three according to my research. My babysitting experience starts at age two.**

**A random person: Hi again **** This story focuses on Berk so when Valka leaves it we don't usually go with her. She will bring back stories when Hiccup's older. For now it's mostly visiting the nest and that will expand to exploring. In the movie she drew an accurate map of the world which means she had flown all over it and exploring is something she's interested in. I update every Wednesday 8 pm mst.**

**Dracologistmaster: Toothless lives in his house, follows him like a duckling, plays with his baby, and cuddles (even though Stoick 'tries' to push him away) so Stoick does come to think of him like a pet; a puppy or kitten really. He'd never admit it though. Cloudjumper is a different matter. Stoick just does not like him. Being a dragon is a huge strike against him, but almost (in Stoick's opinion) killing his baby and stealing his wife are the main offenses. There's also the matter of Toothless being a baby who is harmless and cute and Cloudjumper being a fully grown dragon who has participated in the raids.**


	10. Cookies and Loyalties

Summer was rapidly approaching and Valka had not returned. It had only been a couple of weeks so she wasn't late, but still Stoick found himself checking the sky repeatedly as he made his way slowly to the catapults. Hiccup absolutely refused to be carried to the point that screaming and crying ensued if Stoick tried to force the issue. Hence the agonizingly slow pace which was going to put Stoick behind for the rest of the day. Hiccup was chattering away around the thumb in his mouth despite the goose fat Stoick had rubbed on both thumbs to soften the skin and deter thumb sucking. Maybe, Stoick thought, he could give Hiccup something other than his thumb to suck on. Toothless trotted along with them, somewhat confused by the slow pace. They were going as fast as Hiccup could, Stoick tried to keep him from stopping too often as the baby wanted to crouch down to inspect everything he saw. The pace was somewhat okay with Stoick because he had to bend a little to hold Hiccup's hand and it was starting to wear on his shoulder and back. Regardless of the pain there was no way in Hel that he was going to let go of his son's hand. In the past few days Hiccup had gotten somewhat steadier on his feet, at least he fell less, and more, adventurous. For a kid who cried incessantly when Stoick left him with anyone outside of the house Hiccup had no problems with wandering away when it suited him. Except for that one time in the village square, Stoick hadn't been paying attention to the babies since Toothless never left his sight and Hiccup couldn't get very far out of his sight. Or so he had thought. Somehow Hiccup made it out of the village square. Stoick hadn't even noticed until he heard Hiccup crying and he couldn't find him. The boy had simply sat down and cried until he was returned to his frantic father by Edith who seemed to find the whole thing amusing. There had to be an easier way to get around the village with Hiccup.

They came up to the tower where their agonizingly slow pace came to a complete halt; Hiccup was not good enough on steps or slopes to go up on his own.

"Alright you," Stoick said letting go of Hiccup's hand to pick him up, "No, now no crying, I let ya walk the whole way here."

Hiccup whined around his thumb the whole way up, but there were no railings on the platform that held the catapults so there was no chance of Stoick putting him down.

"Hrothgar, all well up here?" Stoick asked, bouncing Hiccup a bit to quiet him. Watching the people below drew the baby's interest giving Stoick a limited window to get what he needed.

"Could use some more ammunition and the arm's bit loose." Hrothgar wiggled the arm of the catapult.

"Dada, engh." Hiccup pointed down below.

"I'll send someone up to take a look at it." Stoick readjusted his grip on Hiccup as the boy leaned out of Stoick's arms, "Back from the edge, Toothless. Hrothgar kick him back, he doesn't have the best balance."

"Don't know why I should bother," Hrothgar muttered moving toward the dragon, "Thing has wings and no one would care if it fell anyway."

Toothless looked up as Hrothgar went to boot him away from the edge and scampered behind Stoick. From there he hissed at Hrothgar.

"What was that?" Stoick said narrowing his eyes.

The young man fidgeted, "It's just, it's a dragon, Chief. We're kind of at war with the beasts."

Toothless was still hissing and Stoick nudged him with a heel. Hiccup was staring down at Toothless now.

"He's a pet and a baby. Valka's got her big one all trained and this one doesn't know it's a dragon."

"But it will grow. And who's ta say the big one won't turn on us? Everyone's saying it."

Well that wasn't good. Vikings loved a good mob, Stoick did too, but he preferred to keep the peace in the village.

"Dada." Hiccup tapped Stoick's cheek then patted his own belly. He was hungry. Stoick checked the sun, it was about midday.

"No one has mentioned concerns to me. Anyone who has any can talk to me. This," He pushed Toothless out in front of him with his foot, "Isn't a threat and is easily dealt with if he becomes one. I'll order more ammunition made." Stoick didn't give Hrothgar a chance to argue; he was chief and wouldn't be argued with. Even if he was defending a dragon. Gods, he was defending a dragon. What was wrong with him?

"Toofess!" Hiccup was leaning over Stoick's shoulder and Stoick turned to see the dragon on the ramp looking down and leaning too far over the edge.

"Toothless." The dragon lifted his head and trilled at Stoick, "Come on ya little monster." Toothless came bounding down happily, tripped on a wing, and tumbled to Stoick's feet. Unphased Toothless picked himself up and sat with his tongue out giving a dragon grin. Hiccup was giggling but Stoick looked upward before continuing on his rounds.

"Dada, engh."

Right, food for Hiccup. The baby kept whining, threatening to cry for real, as he pointed to the ground.

"Alright, alright," Stoick said putting Hiccup down, "No ya don't," He grabbed Hiccup's little hand before the boy ran off. There had to be an easier way to do this. Why couldn't Hiccup be more like Toothless who followed Stoick everywhere? Stoick stopped and looked down at Hiccup. Had he really just compared his son to a dragon?

"Hey, Stoick." Bur greeted him as he walked by leading his yak.

"Mornin." Stoick replied. He knelt down to gently pull Hiccup's thumb out of the boy's mouth. "Ya don't need ta suck yer thumb right now."

"Come on Mabel, that's a girl," Bur said as he rounded a corner. Stoick watched with interest as the yak attempted to go straight, but the lead line kept her with Bur. He looked down at Hiccup, who had put his thumb back in his mouth, and Toothless who sat looking up at him. The dragon was fine; no issue with him because he followed Stoick around eagerly, but Hiccup. Maybe they should stop in at the forge and see Gobber.

It took almost twice as long to get to the forge than it should have with Hiccup still refusing to be carried. He was unsteady on his feet and slow, but they got there eventually. Toothless ran ahead inside to race around Gobber.

"Hey now, get out from under my feet ya rascal or I'll step on ya. Stoick, I know yer there, call this thing out."

Stoick found himself smiling; it was amusing when the dragon was tripping someone else.

"Baba!" Hiccup tried to run ahead, but the forge was the last place Stoick was going to let him wander what with all the weapons and hot iron lying about, not to mention the mess that the stall was in. He could lose Hiccup indefinitely in there.

"Hey there, little bug," Gobber scooped the boy up, "Ya out helpin yer dad?"

"Slowin me down's more like it. Throws a fit if I don' let him walk." Stoick said as he stretched. His shoulder was sore from stooping. "Got a job for ya if you can do it."

"Oh, you mean other than the dozen things I need to do between raids?" Gobber was pretending to pinch Hiccup's nose with the tongs attached to his arm. Stoick refrained from telling him to stop. Gobber knew what he was doing; he wouldn't accidentally scratch Hiccup, or poke out an eye. All the same Stoick took Hiccup back and distracted the baby with a piece of short bread; he usually carried a packet of them around for when Hiccup got hungry. He was going to end up with crumbs in his beard, but Stoick had resigned himself to that when Hiccup had started eating solid food.

"Aye. Think ya could make a harness that'd fit Hiccup?" Stoick asked as he accepted a piece of short bread that Hiccup was trying to hand him.

"A harness? For yer kid?"

"Aye, for Hiccup." Stoick took another piece of short bread then handed it back.

Gobber shook his head, "Alright, put him on the table so I can measure 'im."

Gobber rummaged around for his measuring cord while Stoick sat Hiccup on the table. He brushed some crumbs off of Hiccup's tunic and smiled when Hiccup mimicked the action with the hand that was not holding the bread. Toothless had been pawing at Stoick's leg since Hiccup had been given the bread.

"Yer not starving, Toothless, you can wait till we get home."

Without a word Gobber reached into a barrel and threw a fish to the dragon before he set about measuring Hiccup.

Stoick shook his head laughing, "Since when do you keep fish in here?" He asked while holding his squirming son still for Gobber.

"Since you decided ta keep a dragon for a house pet. There's a jar of cookies on the shelf that's been there since you decided to keep a kid, too."

At the mention of cookies Hiccup's head went up and he stopped trying to grab the measuring cord, "Cookie?"

"You don't need a cookie, Hiccup." Stoick said glaring at Gobber who was chuckling.

"Cookie!"

Stoick picked him up again as Gobber wrote down the measurements, "Yer not getting a cookie. Finish yer bread."

Hiccup threw the short bread down, "Cookie!"

Toothless made short work of the dropped bread, his fish long gone.

"Look what you've done." Stoick said. Gobber was standing next to them with the jar in his hand.

"Ya may as well. He's too young to be reasoned with."

Stoick gave his friend a level look, "You want me to encourage this behaviour?" He asked as Hiccup started crying for a cookie.

"No. I want ya ta let me indulge the bug." Gobber put the jar down, pulled out a cookie, and handed it to Hiccup. The boy brightened up when he got what he wanted.

"Mmmmm," Hiccup smiled as he ate his cookie, getting crumbs everywhere.

Stoick rolled his eyes. At least it was a small cookie. When Stoick left the forge it was with a full dragon and a messy, tired baby. He shifted Hiccup so the baby was being cradled and wiped the crumbs off Hiccup's face and hands. Stoick was still covered in crumbs himself. Hiccup put his thumb in his mouth and sighed, eyes growing heavy. Stoick didn't really want him to take his nap yet; he hadn't eaten enough to constitute a meal even for Hiccup's little stomach.

There was a squawk from Toothless and a curse from Edith who was passing by. "Ya little devil," She said glaring down at the black dragon. "Why are ya always underfoot?"

Toothless growled in response, licking his bruised tail. It had woken Hiccup up and he was watching both of them. He took his thumb out of his mouth to reach out to Toothless, but started sucking the thumb of his other hand.

"Do ya always need ta have that thing with ya, Stoick?" Edith asked still glaring at Toothless. She did spare Hiccup a smile so Stoick wasn't too put out with her.

"Ya get used to him." Stoick said with a shrug.

Edith shook her head, "A dragon's a dragon, Chief."

Stoick snorted and carried on with his day, stopping at home to give Hiccup some milk before his nap. After that they went back out, Hiccup sleeping for a few hours while Stoick dealt with simple issues that didn't require him to put down his sleeping baby. Toothless cat capped all afternoon, sleeping whenever they stopped. Stoick noticed the growing unrest with his pet; the glares and grumbling. He thought about it later as he tucked Hiccup and Toothless in that night, especially Edith's words. A dragon was a dragon and dragons were dangerous. All of them. It was hard to remember that when Hiccup and Toothless were cuddled up together fast asleep. Cloudjumper made it hard to remember that too, he didn't seem dangerous; he was downright biddable. Not just for Valka, but for Stoick as well. Were dragons really evil?

* * *

**A/N: Hehehe internal conflict for Stoick. It's fun making him question and, **_**feel**_** things. Plus the babies are just so darn cute. **

**Eltigre221: I can't wait for Toothless to learn to fly actually, that's a fun one. And Hiccup gets all jealous about it. Toothless won't be big enough for Hiccup to ride until they're around 11 or so which gives me lots of "I wanna fly too!" stories.**

**KaliAnn: lol no heart attacks quite yet. Lots of panic moments though when I think about it. Hiccup and Toothless are going concerns who need constant supervision. They aren't bad they're just busy. Especially Hiccup. Toothless is more content to stay close to Stoick but Hiccup drags him off. Even though Toothless is younger he sees Hiccup as his little brother.**

**A random person: Right now I'm planning on going to at least Hiccup's age in the first movie, maybe beyond. I say that, I plan that, and then I write and the story's all 'lol nope!' so it could change. I know **_**what**_** will happen more than **_**when**_** it will happen. Sounds like you're on the pacific coast of the Americas somewhere if I'm an hour earlier than you**** I have mad detective skills.**

**AdenineThymine: You're so welcome. I'm so sorry about your dog, that's never easy.**

**Guest: He will be attached to Hiccup as they get older. Right now he is instinctively imprinted on Stoick and thinks that the Chief is his parent (who he sees as his nest's alpha and so he becomes an entitled little brat, although he's like that in the movies too so no big change there). It's a survival thing for him to follow Stoick around unless he's left in a secure, hidden place to wait, or in his 'nest' which is the house. As he gets older the urge to follow Stoick will lessen and he'll be more attached to Hiccup, who he sees as his little brother. He'll listen to Stoick and stay in sight while he's still a hatchling, Hiccup's more inclined to wander and explore, not having the imprinting instinct. Toothless will go with him but not like it. It causes fights which usually end with Toothless sitting on Hiccup.**

**Dracologistmaster: Things are really different with this change so the movie events would be radically different. I do plan on having Berk get all hunk dory with dragons and having an end to the dragon wars. It may go further it may not; I need to see how the story plays out because it has a habit of messing with my outlines. Especially Stoick. Man making that guy change is difficult, he gets a thing in his head and he won't move. Hiccup's easier only because he is a baby/child (depending on the story) and can be forced into the change by adults. I don't know what I'm going to do when he's older and is able to assert his independence more. Stoick's hard enough. Seriously, things that were supposed to take one chapter usually take around three or four and wreak havoc on my outlines. I punish Stoick for that in **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** I haven't yet in this story, though I might if he doesn't get his act together. Sorry for the rant, he's just been causing problems in all my stories.**

**As usual special thanks to CB for the edit. **


	11. Leashes and Pests

**A/N: Minor warnings for snot, runny noses, coughing on people and a big sneeze.**

The disquiet in Berk about Toothless grew. The villagers were increasingly making it clear that they were not okay with a dragon living in the village. Ignoring the fact that he had been living in the village all winter and they had found the dragon amusing up to now. Stoick had been listening to the increasing complaints for three days; ever since the first raid.

"Hiccup, hold still," Stoick said while trying to get the clean diaper on him. Hiccup had just woken up from his nap and didn't want to sit still; apparently there were places to go and things to do. "There." Stoick finally got the diaper fastened and let Hiccup escape. "Gods, I can't wait till you're old enough to do away with diapers, you're far too squirmy for them. Toothless! No, bad!" He shoved the dragon away from the dirty diaper before putting it in the bucket to be cleaned later. He put a cover on the bucket and a weight on the cover to ward off curious dragons.

"Hiccup! Get off the stairs!" Stoick snatched his son off the steps before he fell. What was with him and trying to hurt himself? Hiccup reached for the stairs while bursting into tears.

"Yes, it's awful that I won't let ya hurt yerself. We're heading out anyway." He hoisted Hiccup up into his arms and grabbed a handkerchief from the shelf as Hiccup's crying dissolved into coughs. Stoick wiped Hiccup's runny nose; the boy seemed to have a cold. However, there was no fever or any symptoms other than coughing and a runny nose. Stoick had taken him to Thistleface earlier who had said it was nothing to worry about so Stoick decided to keep to his daily schedule. He grabbed a few more handkerchiefs and shoved them in his tunic.

"Come on, Tooth," Stoick said while putting his helmet on and opening the door. Forge first Stoick decided as Hiccup whined and pointed down, pushing against Stoick. "Not this time, Hiccup; let's get down the hill at least."

Gobber met them outside the stall; he must have heard them coming. Most the village probably heard them coming the way Hiccup was carrying on.

"There, happy now?" Stoick asked setting Hiccup on the ground next to Toothless. Hiccup blinked a few times and coughed as Toothless licked his face.

"Really Toothless?" Stoick said as he wiped the spit off his son. The dragon warbled and hopped around till he got to Gobber's feet. He sat next to Gobber the best he could, knowing he had to sit to get what he wanted. He was wriggling too much to pass for sitting, it was closer to hovering over the ground and Stoick hid his smile the best he could at the dragon's attempt. Hiccup joined Toothless and reached up not bothering to attempt patience,

"Baba!"

"You jus' want ta play with what's in here," Gobber said rattling a small box, "So don' go acting like yer happy ta see _me_."

Hiccup smiled and stretched up even more. "Baba." Stoick eyed the box with suspicion; Gobber wasn't the best at remembering to keep things safe around the baby.

"Ah, don't look so scared, Stoick." Gobber put the box down, "Jus some odds and ends, nothin' sharp." Baby and dragon were both investigating the box and its contents.

"If he gets hurt," Stoick warned.

"He'll be fine. You worry too much. Besides," Gobber stepped into the forge and came back out with a bundle of leather, "It'll distract the lad while I get this on 'im."

Stoick was handed a line of leather and Gobber knelt next to Hiccup with the harness, "Here, Bug, let's see if this fits. Yes, thank you," He took the piece of iron Hiccup handed him and put it back in the box, "Here now, give me yer arm, that's a boy. Uh, Stoick,"

"What?" Stoick asked while he went over the length of the line that attached to the harness.

"There's, ah, there's stuff leakin out 'is nose,"

"He's got a bit of a cold. It's okay." There was a buckle at the end of the line, presumably to attach to his wrist and leave his hands free.

"Stoick, it's gonna get in his mouth."

"Then wipe it off. Here," Stoick went to hand Gobber a handkerchief and saw his friend on the verge of gagging. Stoick couldn't stop himself from laughing loudly, "Don't tell me a little bit of snot is all it takes to turn yer stomach." He knelt down and wiped Hiccup's nose. Toothless ran by chasing an iron ball that was too small to use for a bola.

"Engh!" Hiccup said pointing at the ball.

"Jus' a second, Hiccup." Stoick got his other arm in and buckled the harness. "There ya go. Fits well, Gobber." Stoick watched Hiccup inspect the buckle with his little fingers.

"Course it does, I know what I'm doing." Gobber rolled the ball away when it hit his leg and Toothless ran away after it.

"Hiccup, why don't you give Gobber a hug to say thank you." Stoick said with a grin. Hiccup obediently reached up to Gobber, smiling.

"Now that's quite alright, I don' need a hug," Gobber tried holding the baby off, but runny nose or not he couldn't deny Hiccup his hug, "There are times I dislike you," Gobber said to Stoick over the baby's head as his friend chuckled. Hiccup quickly lost interest and let go.

"Toofess!" He ran over to the dragon who stopped when he heard his name, then crouched when he saw Hiccup running at him. They began a game of tag where neither one was it and Hiccup fell a lot.

"So, what else do you have to do today?" Gobber asked as they watched the babies play.

"Got a meeting in the Great Hall later. Other than that and little issues that come up, nothing." Stoick said. Hiccup was squealing with laughter, still coughing every now and then, and his nose was running, but Stoick didn't see that as an issue.

"Kids are disgusting." Gobber said.

"This coming from the man who hasn't bathed in how long?"

"I don't cough on people or let my nose run."

Stoick shook his head with a smile. Prunhilt walked by and glared down at the dragon as he pounced at Hiccup then dodged away before the baby could grab him. Both of the men kept an eye on her till she was out of sight.

"They all still havin' issues with yer little pet?" Gobber asked.

Stoick nodded. He picked Hiccup up when the boy fell and scraped his knee. "Yer fine, Hiccup." Stoick said as he wiped Hiccup's tears. Hiccup coughed on him, but Stoick didn't care as he bounced the boy in his arms until Hiccup wanted down again.

Gobber eyed him in repulsion, "Ugh, now yer entering the realm of disgustin'."

Stoick smiled as he smoothed Hiccup's downy hair before the baby ran back to Toothless to hug the dragon and cough on him. Toothless leaned away with his ears flicked back.

"He's not so bad," Stoick said watching the two. "They'll get used to him."

"Who? The baby or the dragon?"

Stoick glared at Gobber. "The dragon."

"Sure, sure." Gobber said, "He's like a scaly dog." Gobber kept his eye on Stoick as his friend watched the babies play. Stoick missed the little half grin, "Or Hiccup's brother."

Stoick's head whipped around, "What?"

"You know, they play together, fight with each other, nap together. They're like brothers." Gobber's knowing grin proved that his words weren't as innocent as they seemed; he knew what he was doing.

"They are _not_ brothers." Stoick said. "That one," He pointed at Toothless, "Is a dragon. Hiccup is the heir to the tribe, which is at war with dragons. He does _not_ have a dragon for a brother. Toothless is a pet."

"Sure, sure. Just a pet."

Stoick glared at Gobber. "He is. I gotta go." He scooped Hiccup up again. "Come on, Toothless." Stoick smoothed Hiccup's hair back as the boy coughed again. "Say bye to Gobber, Hiccup."

Gobber raised an eyebrow. "Say bye?"

"Valka wants him doin' it." Stoick shrugged, "You gonna be at the meeting?"

"Yeah, I'll make my way there."

Hiccup suddenly sneezed, spraying snot and spit.

"Oh, now he's really disgustin'." Gobber ducked back into the forge to get a bowl of water and a rag for Stoick to clean the mess up. "What are you laughing at, yer covered in snot."

"Did you see his face? He's never sneezed that big before, I think it shocked him," Stoick said, smoothing Hiccup's hair. Sure enough the baby was wide eyed and had his hands on his nose.

"Yeah, shocked him." Gobber handed Stoick the wet rag. "Don't trust babies Toothless," He said to the little dragon who was staring up at Hiccup, his own eyes wide. "They seem innocent and cute with their soft skin and new person smell, but they're not. They just want ta lure ya in. They're gross with their diapers and runny noses and drool."

"Quit yer belly achin'. Here," Stoick held Hiccup out to Gobber so he could clean himself off. Gobber backed up,

"Oh no, I don't want the little snot producer."

"Oh give it a rest, Gobber, I cleaned him up. Jus' hold him for a minute." Stoick pushed Hiccup into Gobber's arms.

"I don' trust ya," Gobber said to Hiccup. The baby reached up to pat Gobber's mouth, "No, don' go acting all cute with me, I know better." Hiccup smiled and babbled to him. "When's he gonna quit the fake talking? I thought he learned to talk already."

"Some words. He's still figuring sentences out. All in all he knows names and how to ask for what he wants, so long as he can do that with one word. He understands more than he can say." Stoick put the bowl and rag on a barrel.

"Ugh no, Hiccup; Stoick, he's gone and put his finger up his nose. Take him."

Stoick laughed as he took his son back, "At least somebody can get ta ya. No, Hiccup," he said, taking Hiccup's finger out of the boy's nose. "I'll see you at the meeting, then."

"Yeah, and I'll see you when yer son's outgrown all that." Gobber said waving his hand at the baby.

Hiccup was content to be carried to the Great Hall because he was inspecting the buckle of the harness, babbling to himself as he frowned. That was fine with Stoick; there were a lot of stairs to climb. Once inside Stoick took three benches, turned them on their sides, and made a little pen. He set Hiccup inside then lifted Toothless by the scruff and put him in it too.

"Toofess." Hiccup said hugging the dragon, "Dada, up." He reached out one hand to Stoick.

"Not now, Hiccup. You stay here with Toothless and be a good boy. Daddy's got a meeting. Here," He took the harness off then gave Hiccup a little wooden dragon on wheels that fit in Stoick's pocket. He should have asked Gobber for the iron ball for Toothless. Oh well, they could make do for now. "Be good," he said. What he meant was 'don't cry. Please don't cry.'

Stoick took a seat nearby. Some of the others were already there, but Stoick only nodded to them absently. He made sure he could see the makeshift pen and listened for any sounds of distress from his son. All he heard was some coughing, babbling, and chirping. They were fine.

What should have been a quick meeting took longer than expected. Everything was covered in good time and Stoick was almost about to dismiss the group when someone, hidden in the back, brought up Toothless. That seemed to make everyone think they could all share their grievances. As far as Stoick could tell they were all variants of 'It's a dragon.' And 'It's always in the way.' Stoick rubbed his temples. He'd had more legitimate complaints about the Thorston twins and they were only 20 months old.

"Alright, look, he'll stay in the house when Valka's home, but I can't leave him there by himself. No, he chews the chair legs and scratches at the door. I've already had to replace it once. If you all have such issues with him why am I only hearing about them now? No one seemed to mind him during the winter months."

"It's a menace, Stoick. Dangerous." A voice said from the back.

"Yes, Prunhilt. He's savage, just look at how savage he is with Hiccup." Stoick gestured to the pen where Toothless and Hiccup were still playing.

"Uh, Stoick," Spitelout said standing to see inside the pen, "They aren't in there."

What! Stoick stood in a rush to see inside the pen. The toy dragon was left on its side and there was a slight gap between two of the benches. They were gone. No dragon, no baby. Hiccup was missing. Oh gods, oh gods.

"Hiccup!" Sometimes the boy responded. "Hiccup!" Stoick moved away from the table they were gathered around and knelt to check under the others; listening for Hiccup's voice or a giggle or a cough. Strangely no sound came from Toothless, who usually responded to any call,

"Toothless!" Stoick paused to listen for the scraping of Toothless' claws. He couldn't hear them over the sound of others walking around and the scraping of bench legs as they were moved.

"Found them, Stoick," Ack called from the other side of the hall, "Yer boy's fine."

Stoick rushed over to judge for himself, only noticing now how everyone was spread out to look for Hiccup. Stoick got to Ack who was standing by the storage room. Inside was Hiccup with Toothless surrounded by a bit of a mess of food. Some half-eaten and spit out pieces on the floor, knocked over jars, an opened bag of grain. At least it was last year's food. Other than the grain and the preserves, which were fine in their sealed jars, none of it was needed now that the weather had turned.

"Dada!" Hiccup reached up with sticky hands, his nose was running again but his mouth was clean. Unlike the dragon's which was covered in lingonberry preserves and crumbs of grain. Stoick was too relieved to be upset; he grabbed Hiccup and held him tightly,

"Don't you ever do that again." He said into Hiccup's hair.

Hiccup was struggling against him, though, wanting down. The boy only liked cuddles before he went to sleep.

"Engh." Hiccup whined. Sticky fingers pushed against Stoick's neck. He was probably all sticky himself now. Toothless was winding around Stoick's feet, unsure why Stoick was upset, but unsettled by it all the same.

"Alright, out. Go on." Stoick nudged Toothless out the door into the hall, not putting Hiccup down. He did relax his hold, though. Using the last clean handkerchief Stoick wiped Hiccup's nose. He needed a wet cloth to really clean Hiccup's hands. One was supplied by Phlegma.

"Oh, look at the state he's in. And he's gotten you all sticky too. Hold on." She bustled away. Stoick wiped Hiccup's hands, the boy giggling as Stoick got between his fingers. The dragon should be cleaned too, or he'd be getting everything sticky. Stoick knelt down, sat Hiccup on his knee and pulled Toothless closer. Hiccup, of course, climbed off his knee, but Stoick had him confined between his arms with Toothless in front of him.

"Hold still ya little terror." Stoick muttered. The cloth was dirty though and all Stoick did was spread the mess more over the struggling dragon's face. Hiccup was trying to wipe Toothless' face with the rag too, which was making it all more difficult.

"Here," Phlegma came back with a bowl of water for the cloth to be rinsed. She also took Hiccup. Stoick thought about warning her not to, but washing Toothless was hard enough without Hiccup in the way. Of course, the baby started crying but Stoick ignored the boy knowing that he was fine. Gobber came up next to Phlegma holding out his arms.

"Come on, Bug," Gobber said, "No one wants ta hear ya wailing." The crying stopped so Stoick assumed Gobber was now holding the lad. After getting Toothless cleaned Stoick got the worst of the mess off himself and stood up. The Vikings around were all glaring down at Toothless, who hid behind Stoick when he realized he was surrounded by the villagers.

"Stoick, why don't ya take 'im back?" Gobber held Hiccup away from himself, out to his father. Stoick shook his head and took his son,

"Blood and gore you can handle, but a runny nose does you in?" He said wiping Hiccup's nose with the boy's sleeve. He was going to change the tunic when they got home anyway.

Gobber waved his good hand at Hiccup, "He doesn't wipe it, just lets it run."

Stoick said nothing else to his friend, just shook his head. "Alright, we're done here for the day." He told everyone before leaving the hall, Toothless at his heels.

* * *

Stoick finished cleaning up from supper and looked at the messy room. He opened Hiccup's toy chest and threw all of Hiccup's toys in it; sorting out the ruined ones

that Toothless had managed to wear down. The little dragon's teeth were starting to come in.

"Dada." Hiccup whined from the other room, drawing the word out.

Stoick closed the lid and went into the bedroom. Hiccup was standing on the bed, coughing. Toothless had buried his head under a pillow to drown out Hiccup's whines.

"Come here," Stoick said as he picked up his son and rubbed his back. Hiccup started crying. "Shh, shh, Hiccup. It's okay." Stoick bounced Hiccup and rubbed the boy's back as he went into the main room to put some milk over the fire. After adding honey Stoick walked around the room trying to soothe his coughing baby, cradling him and rubbing his chest. When the milk was warm enough Stoick poured it into Hiccup's horn.

By the time Stoick had coaxed Hiccup to drink the milk and got the boy back to sleep he himself could barely keep his eyes open. He smiled down at the sleeping baby cradled in his arms brushing Hiccup's hair out of his face. He should probably cut it a little so it wasn't in Hiccup's eyes. That was a bit of a big deal though; Valka should be there for Hiccup's first haircut. As tired as he was Stoick paced around a little more for good measure before laying Hiccup down next to Toothless. He took another moment to carefully tuck Hiccup in, rubbing his chest when the baby coughed in his sleep and pulling Hiccup's thumb out of his mouth. Part of the problem was Hiccup's stuffy nose making thumb sucking difficult, with any luck he wouldn't wake again that night as he needed to suck his thumb to fall asleep. The milk seemed to work too, Stoick noticed absently. He was looking forward to going to bed himself and not really connecting any dots; he'd think about it in the morning. The heavy cloak had just been draped on a chair when the call of "Dragons!" came. Stoick cursed; of course the devils would attack tonight. After throwing his cloak back on Stoick gathered up his baby, still sleeping thank Thor, and roused Toothless.

"Come on," Stoick said, grabbing his hammer with his free hand. The Great Hall was close, but the noise woke Hiccup, which meant he'd be wide awake when Stoick left him with his aunt in the Great Hall. Toothless, at least, seemed okay with being left in the Hall, maybe Hiccup would fare better with Toothless to keep him company. As Stoick left to join the fight Hiccup started crying. Maybe not. Stoick would deal with it later, one problem at a time and he knew how to deal with a raid.

* * *

**A/N: I honestly don't know why Stoick keeps bouncing that baby. Hiccup never responds to it yet Stoick keeps bouncing him. Swaying/rocking works, and rubbing his chest or back but Stoick always starts with the bouncing.**

**That wasn't too gross, right? I kept descriptors at a minimum and it's typical toddler stuff. At least he isn't picking his nose and eating it. Yet. No, don't think Hiccup was that kid. Snotlout, yes, and the twins were probably picking each other's noses. So Hiccup's not bad disgusting wise. Yet. There comes a scene in part three that is quite gross and is based on true stories (family members and other babies I know have done this thing) and I totally see Hiccup as the type of baby who would have done it.**

**Next week is the final chapter of part two, just a heads up/reminder.**

**Hopelessromantic4life: lol yes, Stoick is pulling a bit of a Hiccup. He still doesn't like Cloudjumper though. He has ups and downs when it comes to the dragons.**

**KaliAnn: No, the harness is not for Toothless, lol. Valka is not overly impressed when she finds out, not upset but not impressed either.**

** A Random Person: timelines are easy to remember in Canada because the provinces are pretty much all straight down (except for the East Coast, but we're special in the Maritimes and Newfoundland is just Newfoundland with its own time zone even. Crazy Newfies.) The Territories follow the same pattern above the provinces. I moved across the country; that helps me remember time zones so I don't phone my grandmother at 11pm. I am in the middleish. At least near what we consider middle, though Ontario is closer to the middle when you look at a map. You have good detective skills as well.**

**Thearizona: In the second movie Valka tells Hiccup that Toothless is "your age" and we know that Hiccup and Toothless have been together for five years at that point. I'm combining that with the knowledge that larger reptiles take years to grow and mature to assume that Toothless is too little for Hiccup to fly on for several years. (I'm including dinosaurs in 'larger reptiles' because dragons are like flying fire-breathing dinosaurs. Check out the animal planet mockumentary on dragons, I think it's on youtube. Clearly fake, no academic in their right minds would EVER treat historic artifacts like he did, especially one of a kind artifacts that are so important. It's a fun take on scientifically "proving" dragons.) That and how tiny new hatchlings where in **_**Gift of the Nightfury.**_** Toothless could probably carry Hiccup sooner than 11 but I don't think that he'd want to and there's no getting that dragon to do what he doesn't want to do. I'm probably overthinking this…**

**Kas3y: Thank you, I love Stoick too, last few times I've watched HTTYD (It's for research I tell myself, and not the flying scenes so I can pretend I can fly) I've watched Stoick's face from the "You're not my son" scene to the "Lead us home, Devil" scene and oh the emotion, he's a great character. I also recommend watching Spitelout's face in both movies; wonderful unspoken sarcasm and sass. As for what they did to Stoick in the second movie, that's probably why I attached myself to this story so much. (SPOILERS) I'm a few years older than Hiccup and my Dad's funeral was a week or two before I saw HTTYD2 for the first time (that whole month is a bit of a blur, the funeral was June 6 I know that) and I didn't cry for Stoick, I grieved with Hiccup. I understood; I felt what he was feeling, I knew how hard it was, the feeling of having that security ripped away, like the roof of your house was ripped off and you were in the open, vulnerable. We knew my dad was sick by February but his passing was still a shock, we didn't expect it so soon. At least we had more warning than Hiccup. Don't get me wrong, I usually skip that part now or else I cry, but I like the way they dealt with it, the way they faced that grief. It was good to see that I wasn't alone in wondering what I was going to do without my Dad.**

**Dracologistmaster: Well, Stoick's getting used to Toothless, partly because he's seeing him less as a dragon and more as a pet, Toothless is small and has very few teeth. Stoick thinks he's okay with Cloudjumper but that's because Cloudjumper's not there. To be fair Stoick does try to get along with him to please Valka, at least, when he knows she's looking.**


	12. Babysitting

It was safe to say that Hiccup did not like the harness. Stoick had gotten it on him with no problems before they left the house in order for Stoick to organize the cleanup from the raid the night before. Hiccup's cold was clearing up; at least he was coughing less that morning. He was cranky though, fussing over breakfast and, for some reason that escaped Stoick, not wanting to wear his shoes. The harness didn't seem to bother Hiccup at first. It was when they got down into the village that Hiccup decided he did not like it. He had started tugging at it, trying to pull it off his cries increasing in volume until he had a complete meltdown in the village square over it. Although, Hiccup was overtired from being up late due to his cold and the raid. That could have contributed to the meltdown. When Stoick thought about it he should have seen the tantrum coming given Hiccup's crankiness all morning.

Hiccup flung himself on the ground in the square. While some people found something else to pay attention to others looked on amused as Stoick tried to deal with a screaming, crying Hiccup. Toothless was torn between escaping from the screaming and finding out what was wrong with his nest mate. Hiccup made it clear he would not be put on his feet, crumpling to the ground every time Stoick tried so the Chief picked his son up.

"No!" Hiccup wailed, not wanting to be carried either. Stoick ignored him as Hiccup hit his chest and went on to the forge. The tower needed more reinforcements; a gronkle had melted one of the legs, metal and all. Stoick also wanted to get out of the public eye since he couldn't control his baby and quite frankly Stoick found Hiccup's tantrum embarrassing. Toothless trotted along quietly. Honestly, Stoick couldn't understand the villager's problem with Toothless; he was better behaved than all the other babies. Last night Toothless had hidden under a table quietly during the whole raid; despite the fact that he had run to Stoick and climbed into his cloak before the Chief knew what hit him. Hiccup, in contrast, had cried the whole raid, again, but he had a cold so was given more grace this time.

"What's with him?" Gobber asked with a nod towards Hiccup. He continued pounding the iron on the anvil.

Stoick shook his head as he bounced his baby, "Tired really. Threw a tantrum over the harness and hasn't stopped." He rubbed Hiccup's back to no avail; Hiccup kept crying.

"So ya decided to let him cry in here? I'm working and would rather not listen to him."

Stoick was drumming his fingers on Hiccup's back now as that sometimes worked. "I'm here cause one of the towers' support beams was melted. Toothless get out of that."

Toothless had his paws up on the water barrel Gobber used to cool the metal, sniffing at it when Stoick snapped at him. Toothless sat down before scuttling out of the way of Stoick's pacing.

"Got it. Anything else?" Gobber asked wiping his brow before going back to his pounding. "No? Sure ya got lots to do, see ya later." He put the iron in the water barrel to cool it.

"Just like that yer kicking me out?" Stoick said as he shifted Hiccup so he was cradled and tried a combination of swaying and rocking to settle him.

"You want the work done, I've got to concentrate and he," Gobber pointed his hammer at the still crying Hiccup, "Needs ta either stop that racket or go."

"He needs a nap. I can't get him to sleep though." Stoick said looking at Hiccup's pinched face. The longer Hiccup cried the more Stoick felt like he was failing at being a father

Gobber rolled his eyes, "Go put him ta bed then."

"The village needs to be repaired, Gobber, I can't sit in the house."

Gobber checked his work over then tossed it aside into a pile of other completed jobs. "Get a sitter, then."

Stoick stopped his pacing to give Gobber a look, "He just cries the whole time."

"Not at yer house, he's good there. Might even go ta sleep. Ask one of the youngsters, they only get in the way during repairs anyway. Ya going ta wipe his nose?" Gobber asked pointing at Hiccup's face.

That was the last thing on Stoick's mind. "You want me ta leave my son with some kid?" He was rubbing circles on Hiccup's chest as he swayed. Hiccup tried to push his father's hand off as he cried.

Gobber shrugged, "Many of them have younger siblings, they know all about diapers and naptime."

Stoick glowered at his friend, but Gobber ignored him and went back to work.

* * *

"Wake him up if he's still asleep in three hours. Toothless should sleep too, but he might get up. If he tries begging for food don't give in. After their nap the dragon can have one fish and Hiccup gets a piece of short bread. If Hiccup asks for milk he can have half a mug, but you have to hold it while he drinks.

"Don't let the dragon chew on the furniture or scratch the door, and keep Hiccup away from the fire and the stairs. Don't forget to change Hiccup's diaper after his nap. The clean ones are in this cabinet and the dirty one goes in this bucket, but put the weight on the lid or Toothless gets into it. Let the dragon out after their nap or you'll end up with a mess, out the back and keep the door open. If he runs off that's fine. Stay with Hiccup. You run into any problems, any at all, just yell for me. Anything else?" Stoick hesitated next to the door. Was this really a good idea he thought looking at Freda. Sure she placed well in dragon training and was responsible, but to leave his son with her? Stoick barely knew her.

"I think that's it, Chief," Freda said, "Don't worry, I take care of my little brother all the time. Nap for no more than three hours, diaper, snack, no fire or stairs. The dragon goes out after the nap, then fish, no chewing or scratching. Do they really play with each other?"

"Yes, they're fine together." Stoick still hesitated. Hiccup was sleeping, which was good. He'd be okay if he woke up when Stoick was gone. Hopefully. Before Stoick could question his decision further he gave another nod and left to work on repairs. Hiccup was fine. Hiccup would be fine. Valka was due back any day now. Why did she leave in the first place?

* * *

Three and a half hours later Stoick made his way home to get Hiccup. Stoick was antsy the whole time he was out. He felt guilty about leaving Hiccup with some kid he barely knew. All he had wanted was for Hiccup to have a nap, his nap should be done and Stoick could get him. He was ready for any kind of chaos when he opened the front door; dragon rampaging the house, Hiccup crying, Freda ready to bolt out the door. That wasn't what he found. The house was quiet. No sign of any of them. Stoick began to panic; he had to form search parties to find his son, groups of two or three would work. Two groups in the village and one to the Great Hall, that wouldn't interfere with village repairs too much. Before Stoick could act he heard Freda's voice,

"Where's Hiccup? There he is! Where'd Hiccup go? There he is!"

It was then that Stoick noticed Hiccup giggling. Stoick followed the sound to the other side of the table where Hiccup and Freda sat, Hiccup covering his eyes with his hands.

"Where's Hiccup?" Freda asked again playfully.

Stoick raised an eyebrow. What was she doing? Hiccup was right there. Hiccup took his hands away.

"There he is!"

Hiccup laughed like this was the best game ever.

"Oh, hi Chief." She smiled when she noticed Stoick.

"Dada!" Hiccup got up and held up his hands to be picked up.

"Everything go okay?" Stoick asked picking his son up to avoid another tantrum. Even though Hiccup was in a good mood, Stoick had a headache and did not want to set him off.

"Everything was fine, sir. He's changed and had his snack, had some milk too. I'm guessing that's what 'mi' is."

Stoick pulled Hiccup's finger out of the boy's nose, "And Toothless?"

Freda's smile dropped, "Oh. Yeah, it's fine. Went out, had a fish. Scampered upstairs a while ago. I checked but didn't see anything it could chew."

Frowning Stoick looked up at the loft. Toothless usually stayed with Hiccup and greeted Stoick when he came home.

"No, nothing he could chew up there. Thanks Freda."

"No problem, Chief. I can watch him anytime; he's a real easy baby. Bye-bye Hiccup."

Hiccup waved at her as she left, smiling around the thumb in his mouth. Toothless still hadn't shown up yet. Stoick pulled Hiccup's finger out of his nose again; since his cold Hiccup had become fascinated with the contents of his nose.

"Toothless." Stoick called. Nothing. "Toothless!" Little scraping sounds came from the loft and Toothless peeked down, large green eyes all that were visible. They darted around and Toothless gave a soft, questioning trill.

"Get down here."

Toothless blinked at him.

"Toofess." Hiccup pointed up and the dragon crooned at him.

"Toothless, come. Come."

The dragon disappeared. There was a clicking and he reappeared on the stairs. He hopped down each step and limped over to Stoick, hesitating when he got close. He favoured his front right paw.

"Engh." Hiccup pointed down. Stoick set him on the floor and pulled Toothless closer by his scruff to check his paw. It was hard to tell with the dragon's dark scales, but Stoick thought he could see a bruise and the paw was a little swollen. Well, Freda had been one of the brighter students in dragon training, what else should Stoick have expected?

"Yer fine, Toothless." Stoick said annoyed, not at the dragon but at himself.

That evening, after supper, Stoick stood outside the Great Hall talking with Gobber, his brother, and some others. Hiccup didn't seem to mind the harness now that he'd had enough sleep. In fact, he seemed to like the freedom it gave him. The line might trip someone though, Stoick thought as he kept an eye on his son. Hiccup was crouched watching some ants with Toothless, holding on to the dragon's ear. They should head home, Stoick needed to put the babies to bed. It was close to an hour after supper, Hiccup's usual bedtime.

"So, the Tower's fixed, still need to top off the catapult ammunition." Spitelout was saying. Stoick felt a tug on the tether and saw that Hiccup had moved as far as he could and was now inspecting the harness again as Toothless sniffed at it.

"Good." Stoick said, "I've got to put them to bed. I'll be ba-" Toothless barrelled into him from the side and climbed Stoick's cloak. Toothless then scrambled around Stoick's shoulder to try and hide in Stoick's beard. Hiccup watched with wide eyes.

"What's with him?" Ack asked.

Stoick pulled Toothless off, "Somethin' spooked him." The dragon climbed back up to curl around his shoulders. Toothless was shaking as he watched the sky. Stoick may as well leave the dragon; there was a soft patting on his knee. Hiccup had come back and was staring up at Toothless with big eyes. Without causing Toothless to fall, and claw at his neck, Stoick knelt to pick Hiccup up.

"What spooked him?" Spitelout asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"No idea. Only times I've seen him like this after the raids. Oh for Thor's sake, here Gobber." Stoick handed Hiccup over so he could untangle the dragon from his cloak.

"Here, Spitelout, take yer nephew." Gobber passed Hiccup to Spitelout, "Do ya have a hankie? Bug's nose is running again."

Stoick rolled his eyes and held his hands out for his son, "Really, Gobber? I'm putting them to bed. Toothless!" The dragon had nosed his way under Stoick's cloak. Stoick glared at Gobber and Spitelout as they laughed, at least Ack was looking away and had the decency to try and contain himself.

"Dragons!" Was called up from the village and people stopped what they were doing to grab their weapons and fight, some getting their young children to the Hall and others getting livestock out of the way.

"Seriously?" Spitelout said, "They just attacked last night."

Stoick shook his head and turned back to the Great Hall.

"Well, at least the little terror's good for something." Ack said, "If it acts like that every time a raid's coming we'll have more warning."

Toothless would give them more warning Stoick thought. It might be enough for the people to be willing to put up with Toothless. Now, when Cloudjumper came home that would take more convincing, but at least Toothless might be accepted. Stoick nodded at the others as they went down to join the raid and Stoick brought Hiccup and Toothless to the Great Hall. Hiccup pointed down at the village where the fighting had started.

"Not till yer older, Hiccup." Stoick said with a chuckle kissing Hiccup's head. Opening the Hall door he felt Toothless peek out and the dragon trilled in his ear. "Alright, down with ya. I've got to go fight." Stoick put Hiccup on the floor and pulled Toothless out from under his cloak. Thistleface was just coming in with Snotlout and Stoick left Hiccup with her before leaving to fight the dragons.

* * *

**A/N: Yet again with the bouncing. I don't think that man will ever learn.**

**This is the end of part 2, mostly because I got fed up with Stoick and the village not cooperating and taking so long to do what I needed them to do. Essentially I split the original part 2 into two parts because it was taking so long to accomplish what I wanted. They hate sticking to my outlines I swear. It's okay; I get revenge in **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_** for misbehaving characters. **_**Imprint **_**will be back July 22. It's a long wait I know. Blame Stoick; he delayed things in **_**Of Fathers and Nightmares**_**.**

**Speaking of which it will be posted next week as CB has graciously agreed to post it for me while I am away in the mountains. **

**In other news, my sister got me into **_**Attack on Titans**_ ** and it's bad. Very bad. I've finished the anime and now am on the manga and gah! So writing has been slow… thankfully I'm ahead of schedule right now. I look away a lot during the anime because it is very gory but the story is so good! (This is her sister talking and it's not my fault she got bored and she was watching netfilx.) Sorry, she was right here and stole my laptop… I shall contain Nori in the future.**

**KaliAnn: She comes back soon and there are some cute moments for them all. There's a lot of tension in the family during the raid season though, it gets better in the winters when there aren't any raids.**

**Violets fire: Thank you. He has a little summer cold; it won't get any worse than it was in that chapter. Babies don't have the best immune systems so get sick easier.**

**Thearizona: I forgot about komodo dragons, I was mostly thinking about alligators and dinosaurs. Dinosaurs could take several years to grow to maturity. The bigger they are the longer it takes. I think that Toothless grew a bit between the first and second movies too. I'm taking your 'not disgusted' comment as a challenge now. I have one card up my sleeve and if that doesn't work I'm stepping it up :)**

**Kas3y: Thank you. It's hard right now because this is the time last year he was in the hospital but it's getting better.**

**Zyonzillia: No more nightfuries, just Toothless. He won't meet the other kids until they're older. Babies this age don't really play with each other, not till they're about two or three. He has had contact with the other kids but their parents keep them away from him for the most part. **

**Special thanks to CB for the edit.**


	13. Clever

Three and a half weeks. She had been gone for three and a half weeks. What was Valka thinking? Hiccup needed her here and Stoick had no idea what to do with the little dragon. Toothless had begun teething; he had several teeth that had come in. It was funny watching the dragon pace around coughing as if he could spit them out. It was less funny that the legs of two tables and several benches in the Great Hall as well as most of Stoick's furniture bore teeth marks. The big problem was the creature waking in the night, which woke Hiccup. This meant cranky dragon, cranky baby, and cranky chief.

The people of Berk were reluctantly okay with Toothless because he served as an early warning for raids. Villagers who knew why the Chief was more short-tempered than usual were amused with the dragon rather than annoyed; not many people or creatures would last this long getting on the Chief's nerves. They found it particularly amusing whenever Stoick looked ready to snap at the dragon only to have Hiccup throw his little arms around the scaly neck and giggle as he sang, "Toofess, Toofess, Toofess!"

Freda continued to babysit for Stoick from late morning into midafternoon. Stoick had told her to treat Toothless like she would a dog; Stoick wouldn't stand for any abuse. He could not risk the dragon becoming dangerously aggressive nor did he want the dragon to be terrorized, though he would never publically confess to the latter. Freda didn't like Toothless but she respected Stoick's wishes and left the dragon alone.

Hiccup and Toothless were always much better in the afternoon when they'd had their nap. Stoick wished he could have a nap every day. At least it would make listening to the villager's complaints easier. Today's plaintiff was Hoark as he listened to yet another rant about Hoark's brother. Honestly couldn't they talk the issue out on their own? It's what he was going to make them do anyway; he was their chief not their mother. A giggle from Hiccup immediately grabbed Stoick's attention. There was nothing unusual with the giggle itself; Hiccup was a happy baby and giggled a lot, but he sounded further away than the harness would allow.

"Hold on," he said to Hoark, "Hiccup?" Stoick started to go into the direction of the giggles but was stopped by the leather strapped to his wrist. The line went back, away from the laughter. Stoick followed the line behind an empty stall where it was sloppily attached to a beam, wrapped around the wood and the prong through the hole, though the leather wasn't though the frame. Hiccup had figured it out. The kid had figured out the buckle. Stoick didn't know where Hiccup was. Fumbling he unbuckled the harness from the beam.

"Hiccup?" He called. "Hiccup where are you?"

More giggles. Stoick cursed; he should not have played hide and seek with the boy the other day. At least Hiccup wasn't a quiet hider. Stoick easily followed the laughter to find Hiccup behind a wagon hugging Toothless like a teddy bear. The dragon chirped when he saw Stoick, visibly relieved to see him.

"Dada!" Hiccup laughed, releasing Toothless to hold his hands up wanting to be held. Stoick picked him up relieved, that the boy had stayed close.

"I'll deal with it later, Hoark." Stoick called back. He had to go deal with the harness before anything else for his own peace of mind. "You'd be better off talking to yer brother though."

Hoark looked a little hurt by that, "But Chief-"

"No buts," Stoick said heading to the forge. Seriously could the villagers not deal with their own little problems? What was with their need for all the hand holding? Hiccup pointed toward the forge when it came into view.

"Baba." He said before putting his thumb in his mouth. Stoick took it out of his mouth and rubbed the dry skin. He would need to put more goose fat on Hiccup's thumbs when they got home.

"Yes Hiccup, we're going to see Gobber because certain babies are too clever for their own good."

"Baby." Hiccup said. "Hiccup baby."

"Yes, you are the baby." Stoick said tickling his son's tummy to make the toddler giggle. Stoick would never tire of that sound. Toothless chirped up at them as he trotted along next to Stoick.

"Toofess baby." Hiccup said frowning at the dragon. Stoick could practically see the gears turning in the boy's head as he reasoned it out; attempting to understand how the world worked. He was a clever lad.

"Yes, he's a baby too." Stoick said kissing Hiccup's downy hair as they entered the forge. Gobber was singing away while he worked.

"Hey Stoick," He said when he looked up. "Jus' give me a moment." Stoick waited while Gobber finished his project, Hiccup and Toothless watching intently. The dragon even tried catching a few of the sparks.

"Alright," Gobber said when he finished, wiping his hands on his apron, "What do ya need?"

Stoick held up the harness with his free hand. "This fixed."

Hiccup reached for it. "Mine." The harness was kept out of his reach and handed to Gobber. "Mine!" Hiccup whined until Stoick gave him a couple of chain links to play with; they were new and therefore more interesting than the harness.

"Nothin' wrong with it," Gobber said after looking the harness over.

"The buckle for the harness needs to go on the back. He figured it out." Stoick said adjusting Hiccup in his arms. "He, uh, he attached me to a beam."

Gobber raised his eyebrows, "He figured it out? You figured it out?" He asked the baby who dropped the chain links and leaned toward Gobber arms outstretched. Gobber took him, both he and Stoick had learned better than to ignore Hiccup's whims if they wanted to avoid tears. Hiccup played with one of the ends of Gobber's moustache. "He can barely hold a spoon and you think he worked the buckle?" The Chief was just glad his friend was ignoring the fact that his baby had outwitted him.

"Give it to 'im. You'll see."

With a shrug Gobber offered the harness to Hiccup. The baby didn't take it but he did play with the buckle. "Yer pullin' my leg." Gobber said, "The bug's not able ta use the buckle any more than I can fly."

Stoick raised an eyebrow, "really?"

"Really."

"What's that then?" Stoick asked nodding to Hiccup. The boy had managed to pull the strap through the buckle and gotten the bar through one of the holes. He frowned as he tugged the strap trying to undo it again.

"Well I'll be. Buildin' blocks are too easy for ya, bug." Gobber said to the baby. Hiccup didn't even look at him as he continued to pull at the strap. "I'll have ta make him a new one then," Gobber told Stoick. "You keep this one to entertain him." He gave the boy back to his father. "He can take it off too?"

Stoick nodded as he situated Hiccup, who still held the buckle, in his arms and kept an eye on the dragon who was playing with a rope randomly lying on the ground. "That's not surprising; he can get his vest off. Can't put it on yet or get his tunic off."

There was a clink as the harness hit the floor and Toothless jumped. The dragon cautiously approached the harness and whacked it with his paw before leaping backward. When that did nothing he approached it again. Hiccup pointed down at Toothless sniffing at the buckle part. The hatchling spooked again when Stoick bent to pick the harness up for Hiccup to continue playing with it. Toothless leaned up on Stoick's leg, stretching as far as he could to watch Hiccup with the buckle and trilled.

"No Toofess." Hiccup said as he frowned at the buckle trying to undo the buckle.

Gobber chuckled. "Goin' concern he is."

"You don't know the half of it." Stoick said, "Thanks, Gobber. Toothless come." The dragon fell into step behind Stoick as they left the forge. Hiccup was content to be carried if he was kept amused. At least the harness was still good for something even if Stoick had to hold it while Hiccup played with the buckle.

"Dada, mi." Hiccup said suddenly looking up from the buckle.

"Yes, I know Hiccup, we're going home for supper now." Stoick told him.

"Mi!" Hiccup yelled with a smile.

"Where's your nose?" Stoick asked to distract the kid. He checked to make sure Toothless was still following and the dragon chirped when they made eye contact. Stoick looked back at his son to see that the boy was covering his nose. "Where're your ears?"

Hiccup frowned for a moment before covering his ears.

"Where're your fingers?"

Hiccup looked at his hands then held them up for Stoick.

Stoick got up the stairs to his house and opened the door. "Where's your tummy?"

Hiccup tried to pull up his tunic as Stoick set him on the floor. "Dada, Dada!" Hiccup was poking at his belly.

"Yes Hiccup, that's your tummy." Stoick said as he checked the stew he had started earlier. He dished out some deer pieces and veggies into a bowl then put it aside to cool. "Where are your toes?" Stoick got himself a bowl and shook his head as Hiccup sat on the floor trying to pull his boot off. Toothless ran around Stoick's feet chirping as Stoick opened the cold box.

"Sit Toothless."

The dragon sat but barely remained stationary in his impatience. Stoick threw him his fish, "Try to chew them."

"Dada!" Hiccup had gotten his boot off his left foot and his sock and had grabbed his toes.

"Alright, you ready for supper?"

"Mi!"

"After you eat, Hiccup." Stoick scooped him up and sat at the table. He made Hiccup eat some of the meat and veggies before giving up and getting the kid some milk. Meanwhile, Toothless paced around the table whining as he eyed Hiccup's bowl. Stoick ignored the dragon's pleas, though, putting the bowl aside for later when Hiccup would get hungry again. Stoick was getting pretty good at holding Hiccup's mug and eating his own supper at the same time.

The front door was opened and Stoick didn't bother looking up, "You got the new harness done already?"

Toothless stopped his pacing to run to the door and Hiccup pushed the mug away to see who had come in.

"Mama!" He twisted around in Stoick's grip and stretched out his arms. Stoick put the milk down and stood up. There she was, braids in disarray, wisps of hair loose about her face, and eyes shining. She smiled broadly at Hiccup.

"Hello my wee babe." She stepped over to take Hiccup into her arms; holding him tightly she smelled his hair before smiling up at Stoick, "Hi."

Stoick smiled back and cupped her cheek, "Hi." Their kiss was cut short by Hiccup whining to be put down and Toothless who was pawing at Valka's leg. Valka knelt to put Hiccup on the floor and greet Toothless.

"How was the trip?" Stoick said as he sat on the floor next to his wife. She leaned her head on his shoulder and Stoick forgot about how long she had been.

"Oh Stoick, it was wonderful. I wish you could see it. And the Bewilderbeast."

"Bewilderbeast?" Stoick asked.

Valka nodded and took the toy Hiccup handed her. "Thank you, Sweet Thing," she said as he toddled off to get another one. Toothless crawled into her lap. "He's the king of all dragons. You'd like him."

Stoick snorted; he hated all dragons. He highly doubted he would like their king. Hiccup dragged his harness over and crawled into Stoick's lap.

"Dis." He said showing his mother the buckle.

"Oh and what is that?" she asked Stoick, giving him a disapproving look. "The old harness?"

"Yeah. Ummm," Stoick stuttered a bit, he hadn't even considered how he would explain the harness to Valka. He only now realized what it looked like: a leash. Stoick was putting a leash on his son like one would a dog. "He wanders off, now, out of sight Val. It's, uh, it's for his own safety, and uh,"

Valka was shaking her head, laughing, "a harness? And Toothless?" She scratched the little dragon in her lap as he purred.

"Well, no. No, he's good. Follows me everywhere, doesn't need one."

Hiccup pushed the buckle up closer to Stoick's face, "Engh."

"You can do it, Hiccup." Stoick said pushing the harness back into Hiccup's lap the baby frowned at it while Stoick stroked his hair absentmindedly.

"Why does he need a new one?"

Stoick watched Hiccup fiddle with the buckle; he had managed to pull the strap loose and was working on getting the hole free. "It buckle's in the front. He's figured it out and can get it off. Gobber's making one that fastens in the back. Yes, very good Hiccup. Can you buckle it up?" He said when Hiccup showed him the unbuckled harness.

Hiccup frowned. "Up?"

"Here," Stoick took the harness while Valka sat up to let him use his right hand. He buckled it and unbuckled it.

"Hiccup do." Hiccup said grabbing at the buckle. Stoick let him have it and held out his arm for Valka again. She watched their son, smiling.

"Clever little boy." She said. "He got it off?"

"Yes." Stoick said drawing out the word, "and, he uh, he buckled it to a beam." He cringed as Valka laughed.

"He buckled it to a beam? You weren't watching him I take it?"

"No. I have things I need to do and he throws a fit if I carry him but he's so small, Val. I have to stoop to hold his hand. This way he can play with Toothless."

Valka shook her head with a smile and lay her head on Stoick's shoulder scratching Toothless under the chin while she watched Hiccup play with the buckle. Stoick smiled, content.

* * *

**A/N: It's back, and now I'm going on hiatus. Really sorry but I am currently on the other side of the country (which is why I posted three hours early; it's 8pm here) visiting relatives. That means not much writing/editing so I'll probably be back around the end of August, I'm here till August 5 and I haven't been home in six years so I don't plan on writing (Instead I'm going to pretend I'm a tourist in my hometown). **

**Can I just say that Nova Scotia is one of the prettiest places I've ever been. I'm not saying this out of bias; it really is, especially on the coast with the fog and the tide. Every time I look out the window it's a different view (My grandmother lives on the harbour). If you ever get the chance to visit do so. **

**Thearizona: Yeah, I didn't even try watching Saw… I will find a way though.**

**ValkaTheDragonMaster: Here, she came back here **

**Everyone else: Thank you!**

**(See I'm even lazy/hurrying through the comments and reviews…)**

**As always special thanks to CB.**


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